Method and apparatus transporting charges in semiconductor device and semiconductor memory device

ABSTRACT

A conductor-filter system, a conductor-insulator system, and a charge-injection system are provided. The conductor-filter system provides band-pass filtering function, charge-filtering function, voltage-divider function, and mass-filtering function to charge-carriers flows. The conductor-insulator system provides Image-Force barrier lowering effect to collect charge-carriers. The charge-injection system includes the conductor-filter system and the conductor-insulator system, wherein the filter of the conductor-filter system contacts the conductor of the conductor-insulator system. Method and apparatus on charges filtering, injection, and collection are provided for semiconductor device and nonvolatile memory device. Additionally, method and apparatus on charges injection using piezo-ballistic-charges injection mechanism are provided to the charge-injection system and devices operation. Memory cells and array architectures and manufacturing method thereof are provided.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/585,238 filed Jul. 1, 2004 and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/626,326 filed Nov. 8, 2004. Thisapplication is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/007,907 filed on Dec. 8, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,942,entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NONVOLATILE MEMORY”, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 60/626,326filed Nov. 8, 2004 and 60/585,238 filed Jul. 1, 2004 and which is aContinuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/897,808filed on Jul. 24, 2004 (now abandoned), which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/585,238 filed Jul. 1, 2004.This application is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/120,691 filed on May 2, 2005, entitled“ELECTRICALLY ALTERABLE MEMORY CELL”, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/585,238 filed Jul. 1, 2004.This application is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/457,249 filed on Jun. 6, 2003, entitled“FLOATING-GATE MEMORY CELL HAVING TRENCH STRUCTURE WITH BALLISTIC-CHARGEINJECTOR, AND THE ARRAY OF MEMORY CELLS”.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to semiconductor device and semiconductormemory device. More particularly, the present invention relates tomethods and apparatus on transporting charges in these devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Image-Force is a well-known subject such as described in a publicationby Sze, entitled “Physics of Semiconductor Devices,” Wiley, New York,1981, Chapter 5. The Image-Force can induce barrier-lowering to causeImage-Force barrier lowering effect and is the main mechanism governingthe Schottky Effect for charge carrier emission.

Image-Force is also discussed in an article by Lenzlinger and Snowentitled “Fowler-Nordheim Tunneling into Thermally Grown SiO₂,” J. Appl.Phys., 40, pp. 278-283 (1969), wherein effect of Image-Force isincorporated into Fowler-Nordheim Tunneling mechanism when thermalcarriers are tunneled through SiO₂ (“oxide”) via such mechanism.

A few attempts have been made to profile oxide charge distribution inoxide by utilizing Image-Force in together with Photo I-V measurementmethod (see publication by Nicollian and Brews, entitled “MOS Physicsand Technology,” Wiley, New York, 1982, Chapter 11, p. 513). Image-Forceand such method have also been utilized on studying barrier heights atinterfaces between metal and oxide, and between silicon (“Si”) andoxide.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,744,111 which issued on Jun. 1, 2004 to Wu, athree-terminal semiconductor transistor device having an emitter, abase, and a collector is described. Schottky barrier junctions areformed at interfaces of emitter and base regions, and at interface ofcollector and base regions. Such device uses Schottky Effect (throughImage-Force barrier-lowering mechanism) and permits tunneling currentsthrough the Schottky barrier junctions via controlling the voltage ofthe base region.

All the above examples and attempts, however, utilize the Image-Forcemechanism for applications irrelevant to nonvolatile memory.

Non-volatile semiconductor memory cells permitting charge storagecapability are well known in the art. The charges are typically storedin a floating gate to define the states of a memory cell. Typically, thestates can be either two levels or more than two levels (for multi-levelstates storage). Mechanisms such as channel hot electron injection(CHEI), source-side injection (SSI), Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FN), andBand-to-Band Tunneling (BTBT) induced hot-electron-injection can be usedto alter the states of such cells in program and/or erase operations.Examples on employing such mechanisms for memory operations can be seenin U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,698,787, 5,029,130, 5,792,670 and 5,966,329 forCHEI, SSI, FN, and BTBT mechanisms, respectively.

All the above mechanisms and attempts, however, have poor injectionefficiency (defined as the ratio of number of carriers collected to thenumber of carriers supplied). Further, these mechanisms require highvoltages to support the memory operation, and voltage as high as 10V isoften seen. It is believed that the high voltage demands stringentcontrol on the quality of the insulator surrounding the floating gate.The memories operated under these mechanisms thus are vulnerable tomanufacturing and reliability problems.

In light of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an insulating barrier in a conductor-insulatorsystem that can be operated to enhance carrier injection efficiency andto reduce operation voltages. It is another object of the presentinvention to provide charge carriers (electrons or holes) transportingwith tight energy distribution and high injection efficiency. Otherobjects of the inventions and further understanding on the objects willbe realized by referencing to the specifications and drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to provide method andapparatus for charge filtering and injection in semiconductor devicesand memory.

Briefly, one embodiment of the present invention is a conductor-filtersystem. The conductor-filter system comprises a conductor suppliesthermal charge carriers, and a filter contacting the conductor. Thefilter includes dielectrics for providing a filtering function on thecharge carriers of one polarity, wherein the filter includeselectrically alterable potential barriers for controlling flow of thecharge carriers of one polarity through the filter in one direction.

In addition to controlling the one polarity of charge carriers, thefilter further includes another set of electrically alterable potentialbarriers for controlling the flow of charge carriers of an oppositepolarity through the filter in another direction that is substantiallyopposite to the one direction.

Briefly, another embodiment of the present invention is aconductor-insulator system. The conductor-insulator system comprises aconductor having energized charge carriers with an energy distribution,and an insulator contacting the conductor at an interface. The insulatorhas an Image-Force potential barrier adjacent to the interface, whereinthe Image-Force potential barrier is electrically alterable to permitthe energized charge carriers transporting there over. In one preferredembodiment, the energized charge carriers have an energy distributionwith an energy spectrum in the range of about 30 meV to about 300 meV.

Briefly, an additional embodiment of the present invention is acharge-injection system. The charge-injection system comprises aconductor-filter system having a conductor for supplying thermal chargecarriers, and a filter contacting the conductor and includingdielectrics for providing a filtering function on the charge carriers ofone polarity. The filter includes one set of electrically alterablepotential barriers for controlling flow of the charge carriers of onepolarity through the filter in one direction, and further includesanother set of electrically alterable potential barriers for controllingflow of charge carriers of an opposite polarity through the filter inanother direction that is substantially opposite to the one direction.The charge-injection system further comprises a conductor-insulatorsystem. The conductor-insulator system includes a second conductorcontacting the filter and having energized charge carriers from thefilter, and an insulator contacting the second conductor at an interfaceand having an Image-Force potential barrier adjacent to the interface.The Image-Force potential barrier is electrically alterable to permitthe energized charge carriers transporting there over.

Briefly, a still additional embodiment of the present invention is amemory cell. The memory cell comprises a conductor-filter system havinga conductor for supplying thermal charge carriers, and a filtercontacting the conductor and including dielectrics for providing afiltering function on the charge carriers of one polarity. The filterincludes a first set of electrically alterable potential barriers forcontrolling flow of the charge carriers of one polarity through thefilter in one direction, and a second set of electrically alterablepotential barriers for controlling flow of charge carriers of anopposite polarity through the filter in another direction that issubstantially opposite to the one direction.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by ways of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an energy band diagram for a conductor-insulator system. Theenergy-band of the insulator is shown on conduction band for cases withand without the Image-Force effect;

FIG. 2 is an energy band diagram showing thermal electrons tunnelingthrough potential barrier in the energy-band of conductor-insulatorsystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is an energy band diagram showing hot electrons transportingthrough potential barrier in the energy-band of conductor-insulatorsystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B shows barrier height and location of the barrier peak of thepotential barrier as a function of the dielectric field applied to theinsulator;

FIG. 3C shows barrier heights of the potential barrier as a function ofthe dielectric field for various dielectrics having different dielectricconstants;

FIG. 4 is an energy band diagram showing hot electrons having broadenergy spectrum transporting through potential barrier in theenergy-band of conductor-insulator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an energy band diagram showing hot electrons having narrowenergy spectrum transporting through potential barrier in theenergy-band of conductor-insulator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an energy band diagram showing hot holes having narrow energyspectrum transporting through potential barrier in the valence band ofconductor-insulator system;

FIG. 7 is an energy band diagram for a conductor-filter system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows relative energy level of threshold energy to Fermi-levelwith the applied voltage Va as the plotting parameter;

FIG. 9 is an energy band diagram in accordance with one embodiment oncharge-injection system of the present invention illustrating thefiltering and the image-force barrier lowering forballistic-electrons-injection mechanism;

FIG. 10 is an energy band diagram in accordance with another embodimenton charge-injection system of the present invention illustrating thefiltering and the image-force barrier lowering forballistic-electrons-injection mechanism;

FIG. 11 is an energy band diagram in accordance with the presentinvention illustrating the barrier height engineering forballistic-electrons-injection mechanism;

FIG. 12A illustrates the effect of the barrier height engineering inaccordance with the present invention for ballistic-electrons-injection,wherein the barrier height of the forward transporting electrons and thebarrier height of the backward transporting holes can be altered indifferent degree by voltage between TG and BG;

FIG. 12B illustrates the effect of the voltage divider function inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an energy band diagram in accordance with another embodimentof the present invention illustrating the charge-filtering and theimage-force barrier lowering for ballistic-light-holes-injectionmechanism;

FIG. 14 illustrates the effect of the barrier height engineering inaccordance with the present invention for ballistic-holes-injection,wherein the barrier height of the forward transporting holes and thebarrier height of the backward transporting electrons can be altered indifferent degree by voltage between TG and BG;

FIG. 15 shows normalized tunneling probability plotted as a function ofreciprocal of voltage across TD for LH and HH;

FIG. 16 is an energy band diagram on band structure of anotherembodiment on charge-injection system in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 17A is a schematic diagram illustrating the dispersion relationshipbetween energy E and momentum vector k for a semiconductor withoutstrain;

FIG. 17B is a schematic diagram illustrating the dispersion relationshipbetween energy E and momentum vector k for a semiconductor under tensilestress;

FIG. 17C is a schematic diagram illustrating the dispersion relationshipbetween energy E and momentum vector k for a semiconductor undercompressive stress;

FIG. 18 is a plot illustrating normalized mean-free-path versus stresscalculated for compressive strained silicon;

FIG. 19 is a plot illustrating efficiency enhancement versus stress incompressive strained silicon with stress axis as the plotting parameter;

FIG. 20 is a plot illustrating efficiency enhancement versus stress incompressive strained silicon with mean-free-path of unstrained siliconas the plotting parameter;

FIG. 21A is a plot illustrating the injection efficiency versus the BGthickness;

FIG. 21B is a plot illustrating the dependence of sheet resistance of BGon mean-free-path for piezo-electrons injection efficiency at 1 percent;

FIG. 22 is the cross sectional view of a cell structure in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is the cross sectional view of a cell structure in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is the cross sectional view of a cell structure in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is the schematics showing the array architecture for memorycells in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 26A is a top view of a semiconductor substrate used in the firststep of the method of manufacturing memory cells in present invention;

FIG. 26B is a cross sectional view of the structure taken along the lineCC′ in FIG. 26A;

FIGS. 27-32 are top views of the structures showing in sequence the nextstep(s) in the formation of a memory array and cells in accordance withthe present invention;

FIGS. 27A-32A are cross sectional views taken along the line A-A′ inFIGS. 27-32 illustrating in sequence the next steps in processing toform the memory cells and array in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGS. 27B-32B are cross sectional views taken along the line B-B′ inFIGS. 27-32 illustrating in sequence the next steps in processing toform the memory cells and array in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGS. 27C-32C are cross sectional views taken along the line C-C′ inFIGS. 27-32 illustrating in sequence the next steps in processing toform the memory cells and array in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGS. 27D-32D are cross sectional views taken along the line D-D′ inFIGS. 27-32 illustrating in sequence the next steps in processing toform the memory cells and array in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used herein, the symbol n+ indicates a heavily doped n-typesemiconductor material typically having a doping level of n-typeimpurities (e.g. arsenic) on the order of 10²⁰ atoms/cm³. The symbol p+indicates a heavily doped p-type semiconductor material typically havinga doping level of p-type impurities (e.g. boron) on the order of 10²⁰atoms/cm³. Where appropriate, the same reference indicators will be usedthroughout the drawings and the following detailed description to referto the same or similar parts.

FIG. 1 shows an energy-band diagram for a conductor-insulator systemwhen an electric field is applied. The diagram shows a conductor 10contacting an insulator 12 and having a Fermi-level energy 16 in itsenergy-band. Further, the energy-band of the insulator 12 is shown onconduction band 18 and 18′ for cases with and without the Image-Forceeffect, respectively. Additionally, there are shown barrier heightsφ_(b) 20 and φ_(bo) 22 of potential barriers 24 and 24′ formed by theinsulator 12 for cases with and without the Image-Force effect,respectively. The Image-Force effect is shown to alter the shape of thepotential barrier from a triangle barrier 24′ having a sharp corner atbarrier edge to a triangle barrier 24 having a smooth corner(“Image-Force potential barrier” or “Image-Force barrier”). The effectlowers the potential barrier from barrier height 22 to barrier height 20by a barrier offset Δφ_(b) 26, and is termed Image-Force barrierlowering effect. A barrier peak 28 is shown at the peak of theImage-Force barrier 24 having a location at a distance X_(m) 30 awayfrom an interface between conductor 10 and insulator 12.

In FIG. 1, the conductor can be a semiconductor, such as n+polycrystalline Silicon (“polysilicon”), p+ polysilicon, heavily-dopedpolycrystalline Silicon-Germanium (“poly SiGe”), or a metal, such asaluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), Au, Tungsten (W), Molybdenum (Mo),ruthenium (Ru), tantalum (Ta), nickel (Ni), tantalum nitride (TaN),titanium nitride (TiN) etc, or alloy thereof, such as platinum-silicide,tungsten-silicide, nickel-silicide etc. The insulator can be adielectric or air. When dielectric is considered as the insulator,material such as oxide, nitride, oxynitride (“SiON”) can be used for thedielectric. Additionally, dielectrics having dielectric constant (orpermittivity) k lower or higher than that of oxide (“Low-k dielectrics”or “High-k dielectrics”, respectively) can also be considered as thematerial for the insulator. Such Low-k dielectrics can be fluorinatedsilicon glass (“FSG”), SiLK, porous oxide, such as nano-porouscarbon-doped oxide (“CDO”) etc. Such High-k dielectrics can be aluminumoxide (“Al₂O₃”), hafnium oxide (“HfO₂”), titanium oxide (“TiO₂”),zirconium oxide (“ZrO₂”), tantalum pen-oxide (“Ta₂O₅”) etc. Furthermore,any composition of those materials and the alloys formed thereof, suchas hafnium oxide-oxide alloy (“HfO₂—SiO₂”), hafnium-aluminum-oxide alloy(“HfAlO”), hafnium-oxynitride alloy (“HfSiON”) etc. can be used for thedielectrics. Moreover, insulator need not be of dielectric materialshaving a uniform chemical element and need not comprising single layer,but rather can be dielectric materials having graded composition on itselement, and can comprise more than one layer.

FIG. 2 (prior art) shows electrons 31 transporting through the potentialbarriers of FIG. 1 via quantum mechanical tunneling mechanism (e.g.Fowler-Nordheim tunneling). The electrons 31 in the conductor 10 are atthermal temperature before tunneling through barriers 24 or 24′, andthus the electrons do not have kinetic energy with respect to theFermi-level 16. Such type of electrons is termed as “thermal electrons”,and such type of charge carriers is termed as “thermal charge carriers”or “thermal carriers”. The thermal electrons 31 are able to transportthrough insulator 12 in quantum mechanical tunneling when a largeelectric field (typically greater than 10 MV/cm) is applied ininsulator. Under such a large field, the electrons 31 are showntunneling through the insulator 12 to enter its conduction band 18 and18′ for cases with and without the Image-Force effect, respectively.Such tunneling mechanism is known to have higher tunneling rate ontransporting electrons 31 through the barrier 24 than through barrier24′ when barrier height is lowered by the Image-Force effect.

FIG. 3A shows an energy band diagram for an energized charge carrier(electron 32) transporting over potential barrier of theconductor-insulator system of FIG. 1. The energized charge carrier in aregion is defined as charge carrier having a kinetic energy with respectto the Fermi-level energy of that region. For example, in FIG. 3A, theenergized electron 32 in the conductor 10 is shown having a kineticenergy 33 with respect to the Fermi-level energy 16 of the conductor 10.Such electron transports in a different mechanism than that of thethermal electron 31 described in connection with FIG. 2. The kineticenergy 33 is shown at a level slightly higher than the barrier height 20of the Image-Force barrier 24 and lower than the barrier height 22. Theelectron 32 is shown moving along a forward direction 34 (shown inarrow) from conductor 10 to insulator 12. When potential barrier withoutImage-Force effect is considered, the kinetic energy 33 is insufficientto support hot electron 32 transporting over potential barrier 24′, andhence electron can be blocked by the barrier 24′ and moving along areturned path 34′. However, under the Image-Force effect, the loweredbarrier height 20 permits the hot electron 32 having same kinetic energy33 to transport along the forward direction to graze and pass theImage-Force barrier 24 and enter its conduction band 18. This effect isdesirable as it can reduce voltage that is required to energize theelectrons 32 in order to produce hot electrons for applications inintegrated circuit (“IC”) and memory.

FIG. 3B shows the effect of Image-Force on altering barrier height andlocation of the barrier peak of the Image-Force potential barrier. Thebarrier height and location of peak barrier are plotted as a function ofelectric field CD applied to the insulator. In illustrating the effect,oxide is assumed as the material for the insulator. FIG. 3B shows thatthe barrier height 20 can be lowered from 3.1 eV to about 2.5 eV when anelectric field ε_(D) of about 5 MV/cm is applied to the insulator. Thiseffect illustrates the Image-Force barrier lowering effect. Further, itillustrates the nature of the Image-Force potential barrier that theImage-Force potential barrier 24 is electrically alterable throughelectric field. Additionally, it illustrates a means on altering barrierheight of the barrier 24 by using an electric field. Typically, suchelectric field is applied by applying a voltage across the insulator.For example, for an oxide insulator having 6 nm in thickness, a voltageof about 3.0V across the oxide is required to generate 5 MV/cm. ThisImage-Force effect provides the saving on electron kinetic energy madepossible by the applied electric field because the Image-Force and thepotential barrier must be combated only to a distance X_(m), and not toinfinity. Once transporting beyond the distance X_(m), the energizedcharge carrier 32 is permitted to transport over the Image-Forcebarrier.

FIG. 3B further shows the peak barrier distance X_(m) 30 to theconductor/insulator interface can be shortened from a range of infinity(at ε_(D)=0 MV/cm) to a range less than 1 nm (at ε_(D)=2 MV/cm). It isknown in solid-state physics that the polarization of a medium (e.g. theinsulator of FIG. 1) cannot follow a moving charge when the transit timeof the charge is shorter than the dielectric polarization time of themedium. Shortening peak barrier distance X_(m), as provided in FIG. 3B,can shorten the charge transit time, and such effect is desirable as itcan provide a means on lowering the dielectric constant of theImage-Force barrier 24 (“Image-Force dielectric constant”) and hence onenhancing the barrier lowering effect. Other means, such as increasingcharge moving velocity (e.g. by increasing its kinetic energy), can alsobe considered to reduce transit time, and hence reducing the Image-Forcedielectric constant. This is considered as another means on alteringbarrier height of the Image-Force potential barrier. Typically, withsuch means, the dielectric constant can be lowered from its static value(e.g. about 3.9 for oxide) to a value near the optical one (e.g. about2.2 for oxide), and results in an enhancement on lowering theImage-Force barrier 24 by about 0.14 eV (for oxide). It is noted thatthis effect is a result of a short transit time for carriers (electrons)traversing the distance X_(m) 30, and happens in the absence ofinteraction with other particles when the carrier transit time isshorter than the dielectric polarization time of the insulator. It isnoted that in some situations, it is possible the carriers can interactwith quantum mechanical particles (e.g. phonons) within the distance 30.Such interaction can result in the Image-Force dielectric constant ofthe barrier 24 be slightly larger than its optical one, and hence canslightly weaken the effect on barrier lowering as employing meansprovided herein.

FIG. 3C shows barrier heights of the potential barrier as a function ofthe electric field for barrier calculated based on various dielectricconstants k using Image-Force theory. It is illustrated that the barrierheight φ_(b) for the lowest k (=1.4) has the strongest dependence onelectric field ε_(D). For electric field ε_(D) at about 5 MV/cm, thebarrier height is shown can be lowered to about 2.6 eV for k=3.1, andcan be further lowered by about 0.2 eV to about 2.4 eV for k=1.4. Theresults indicate that the Image-Force effect on barrier lowering(Image-Force barrier lowering) can be amplified by choosing insulatorhaving lower dielectric constant and/or by means that can lower thedielectric constant of the Image-Force barrier as described inconnection with FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4 is an energy band diagram for one embodiment on theconductor-insulator system of the present invention showing a group ofhot electrons 32 transporting through potential barrier 24 ofconductor-insulator system of FIG. 1. The conductor-insulator systemcomprises a conductor 10 having energized charge carriers 32 with anenergy distribution 36 and an insulator 12 contacting the conductor 10at an interface 14 and having an Image-Force potential barrier 24adjacent to the interface 14, wherein the Image-Force potential barrier24 is electrically alterable to permit the energized charge carriers 32transporting there over.

The electrons 32 are shown having an energy distribution 36 onpopulation distributed at different energy levels and the distributionis shown in a Gaussian-shape having a broad energy spectrum Δ36. Thedistribution has a peak population 36 p at the level of the kineticenergy 33, which is at the same kinetic energy level as described inconnection with FIG. 3A. In FIG. 4, it is further shown that about ahalf portion (upper half portion) of the electrons have their energygreater than the barrier height 20, and another half portion (lower halfportion) of electrons have their energy lower than the barrier height20. Without the Image-Force barrier lowering effect, all the electrons32 are shown blocked by the potential barrier 24′ formed in connectionwith the conduction band 18′. With the Image-Force barrier loweringeffect, the upper half portion of electrons in energy spectrum are shownbeing able to surmount the Image-Force barrier 24 formed in connectionwith the conduction band 18 and transport along the forward direction 34(shown in arrow). These electrons can enter the conduction band 18 tobecome electrons 32′ having a distribution 36′ in energy. Due toinsufficient kinetic energy of the lower half portion of electrons 32,these electrons are blocked by the Image-Force barrier 24. Thus, asshown, the distribution 36′ of electrons 32′, to a first order, onlyreflects the distribution of the upper half portion of electrons 32.

In FIG. 4, another Image-Force effect is worth noted and is providedherein. It is noted that the lower half portion of the electrons 32 havea lower kinetic energy than that of the upper half one. Therefore, theirtransit time on traversing the distance X_(m) 30 before reaching thepeak barrier is longer than that of the upper half portion of electrons.In some situations, their transit time can be longer than the dielectricrelaxation time of the insulator, and hence allowing the insulator tofully screen the Image-Force interaction with these electrons. Thisresults in a weaker Image-Force barrier lowering effect due to a largerdielectric constant seen by such type of electrons. Such effect resultsin a higher barrier height 20 for the lower energy electrons and henceinduces a stronger effect on blocking these electrons from surmountingthe barrier 24.

The Image-Force effects described in FIG. 4 further provide a filteringfunction on passing high energy charge carriers and blocking the lowenergy ones. The selection on energy level (“threshold energy”) forcarriers to be passed can be made by controlling the barrier height 20through a selection on the electric field of the insulator based on thebarrier height φ_(b) dependence on electric field ε_(D) as described inconnection with FIG. 3B. For the example illustrated in FIG. 3B, atunable range on threshold energy can be from 3.1 eV to about 2.5 eV asvarying electric field from 0 to 5 MV/cm (or equivalently, by applyingvoltage from 0 to 3 V across the oxide insulator, assuming an oxidethickness of 6 nm).

In FIG. 4, electrons having broad energy spectrum can be originated byemploying mechanisms such as CHEI, SSI, and BTBT well-known in the art.Electrons energized by these types of mechanisms typically involvespherical and non-directional scatterings with lattice atoms and theenergy spectrum Δ36 can range from about 0.5 eV to about 3 eV.

FIG. 5 presents an energy band diagram for another embodiment on theconductor-insulator system of the present invention showing energizedcharge carriers transporting over potential barrier 24 ofconductor-insulator system of FIG. 1. In FIG. 5, the conductor-insulatorsystem comprises a conductor 10 having energized charge carriers 37 withan energy distribution 38 and an insulator 12 contacting the conductor10 at an interface 14 and having an Image-Force potential barrier 24adjacent to the interface 14, wherein the Image-Force potential barrier24 is electrically alterable to permit the energized charge carriers 37transporting there over.

In FIG. 5, the energized charge carriers (hot electrons 37) are shownhaving energy distribution 38 on population distributed in a narrowenergy spectrum Δ38 when transporting over Image-Force barrier 24 ofconductor-insulator system. The diagram is in all respects except onethe same as that of FIG. 4. The difference is that instead of the broadenergy spectrum Δ36 for the hot electrons distribution 36, the diagramis provided with a narrow energy spectrum Δ38 for the hot electronsdistribution 38. For hot electrons 37 having peak population at sameenergy level 33 as electrons 32 described in connection with FIG. 4, allof these electrons 37 are shown being able to surmount the Image-Forcebarrier 24 formed by the conduction band 18 to become electrons 37′having a distribution 38′ on population similar to 38. Typically, theenergy distribution 38 of the energized charge carriers 37 has theenergy spectrum Δ38 in the range of about 30 meV to about 300 meV.

The unique portion of this embodiment is that electrons 37 are packed ina tight energy distribution and the Image-Force barrier 24 functions asa “Full-Pass Filter” permitting all the hot electrons traversing therethrough at a lower kinetic energy. It thus brings advantages on higherinjection efficiency and lower operation voltage to this embodiment.

Although the forgoing illustrations in connection with FIGS. 2 to 5 aremade for electrons as the energized charge carriers and conduction bandas energy band of the barrier, it is obvious that the same illustrationscan be readily made for other types of energized charge carriers, suchas holes, and for other types of energy band, such as valence band.

FIG. 6 presents an energy band diagram for another embodiment of thepresent invention with holes as an example for illustration. In FIG. 6,the conductor-insulator system comprises a conductor 10 having energizedcharge carriers 40 with an energy distribution 48 and an insulator 12contacting the conductor 10 at an interface 14 and having an Image-Forcepotential barrier 42 adjacent to the interface 14, wherein theImage-Force potential barrier 42 is electrically alterable to permit theenergized charge carriers 40 transporting there over.

The diagram of FIG. 6 is in all respects the same as that of FIG. 5except few differences. One of the differences is that instead ofproviding hot electrons 37 as the transporting charge carriers, thediagram is provided with energized holes 40 (or “hot holes” 40).Additionally, barriers formed by the insulator are now in connectionwith valence band of the insulator. Also shown are a barrier height 41′of a potential barrier 42′ in connection with a valence band 44′ forcase without the Image-Force effect, and a barrier height 41 of anImage-Force barrier 42 at valence band 44 of the conductor-insulatorsystem of FIG. 1. The barrier height 41 is lowered by the Image-Forcebarrier lowering effect in similar way as described for barrier height20 in connection with FIGS. 1, 3B and 3C while an electric field isapplied to insulator.

In FIG. 6, hot holes 40 are shown having an energy distribution 48 onpopulation distributed in a Gaussian-shape profile having a narrowenergy spectrum Δ48. The distribution 48 is shown having a peakdistribution 48 p and a tail distribution 48 t. The holes at the peakdistribution 48 p are shown having a kinetic energy 46 with respect tothe Fermi-level 16 of the conductor. The kinetic energy 46 is shownslightly higher than the Image-Force barrier height 41 and lower thanthe barrier height 41′. Without the Image-Force barrier lowering effect,holes 40 having the distribution 48 are shown having their energy belowbarrier height 41′ and thus are unable to surmount the barrier 42′.However, with the Image-Force effect, holes 40 are shown having amajority portion (except the tail portion 48 t) being able to surmountthe Image-Force barrier 42, transporting along the forward direction 34to become holes 40′ having an energy distribution 48′ on theirpopulation. Such holes 40′ have energy higher than the valence band 44and can continue transporting within the insulator along the samedirection to reach material adjacent to the other side of the insulator(not shown). Also illustrated in FIG. 6 for holes is the high-passfiltering effect that is similar to the effect described in connectionwith FIG. 4 for electrons. As shown, the holes 40 within the taildistribution 48 t are shown having kinetic energy slightly below thebarrier height 41. Such holes are blocked from surmounting Image-Forcebarrier 42 and are not included in the distribution 48′. However, due tothe tight energy spectrum Δ48 of holes 40, situation on blocking holes40 within the tail distribution 48 t can be easily avoided by liftingenergy of such holes through applying an additional small voltage (e.g.about 100 mV).

It is now clear that with the Image-Force barrier lowering effectemployed in the present invention, hot carriers (electrons or holes) canbe transported through insulator barrier at lower kinetic energy, andthe operation voltage can be lowered when employing such effect foroperating memory cell or semiconductor devices. To achieve highinjection efficiency, it is desirable that carriers having tight energyspectrum on energy distribution are provided as the hot carriers and areused along with the Image-Force barrier lowering effect for memory celloperations.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theillustrated herein and embodiments described above, but encompasses anyand all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims. Forexample, although the carriers distributions 36, 38 and 48 of thepresent invention is illustrated in Gaussian shape, it should beapparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that the distributioncan be extended to any other type of shapes, and the shape need not besymmetrical in the energy.

FIG. 7 provides an energy band diagram for a conductor-filter system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In theconductor-filter system of FIG. 7, there are shown a filter 52contacting a conductor 50. The conductor 50 supplies thermal chargecarriers of electrons 56. The filter 52 contacts the conductor 50 andincludes dielectrics 53 and 54 for providing a filtering function on thecharge carriers 56 of one polarity (negative charge carriers, electrons56), wherein the filter 52 includes electrically alterable potentialbarriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄ for controlling flow of the charge carriers 56of one polarity through the filter 52 in one direction (forwarddirection 34).

FIG. 7 is an example of the filtering function. The conductor 50 hasFermi-level energy 16 ₅₀ and can be a semiconductor, such as n+polysilicon, p+ polysilicon, heavily-doped polycrystallineSilicon-Germanium (“poly SiGe”), or a metal, such as aluminum (Al),platinum (Pt), Au, Tungsten (W), Molybdenum (Mo), ruthenium (Ru),tantalum (Ta), nickel (Ni), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride(TiN) etc, or alloy thereof, such as platinum-silicide,tungsten-silicide, nickel-silicide etc. The filter 52 is showncomprising a tunneling dielectric TD 53 and a blocking dielectric BD 54.The tunneling dielectric TD 53 is shown having a barrier 24 ₅₃ formed inthe conduction band 18 ₅₃ of TD 53. The blocking dielectric BD 54 isshown having a barrier 24 ₅₄ formed in the conduction band 18 ₅₄ of BD54 and the conduction band 18 ₅₄ is shown having an offset 55 with theconduction band 18 ₅₃ of TD 53. TD 53 is disposed adjacent to theconductor 50, and BD 54 is disposed adjacent to TD 53. Typically, BD 54has an energy band gap narrower than that of TD 53. The filter 52 canhave different band bending on conduction bands as a voltage is appliedacross the filter. The conduction band 18 ₅₄ of BD 54 is shown having aless band bending than that shown for conduction band 18 ₅₃ of TD 53.The conductor 50 supplies thermal electrons 56 having an energydistribution 57 on population. The energy distribution 57 of electrons56 is shown below Fermi-level energy 16 ₅₀ and has a peak distribution57 p and a tail distribution 57 t in its distribution profile. Theconductor 50 provides charge carriers having energy lower thanFermi-level energy, and hence functions somewhat like a “low-pass”carrier provider. With electric fields applied in the filter 52,electrons 56 in the peak portion distribution 57 p are shown being ableto transport through TD 53 in quantum mechanical tunneling mechanism(e.g. direct tunneling) through the barrier 24 ₅₃ of TD 53, and canenter the conduction band 18 ₅₄ of BD 54 to become electrons 56′ havinga tight energy spectrum Δ57′ on energy distribution 57′. In a contrast,the electrons 56 within the tail distribution 57 t are shown unable totunnel through barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄. The barrier 24 ₅₄ of BD 54provided in the filter 52 forms an additional tunneling barrier for theelectrons 56 within the tail distribution 57 t and a blocking effect onthese electrons takes place and can be made by keeping barrier 24 ₅₄ atan energy level (“threshold energy” 58) higher than the energy of theseelectrons. The threshold energy 58 is to first order established by bothbarriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄ (it's controlled by a voltage drop in barrier24 ₅₃ and the offset 55 between barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄). The blockingeffect of barrier structure of filter 52 thus provides a filteringmechanism producing a high-pass filtering effect on tunneling chargecarriers 56. This filtering effect is unique and is somewhat differentthan the filtering effect on energized carriers (e.g. hot electrons 32)described in connection with FIG. 4. While TD 53 and BD 54 are shown inthe filter 52 of FIG. 7, such showing is only by way of example and anyadditional layers having potential barriers suitable for controllingcarrier flow can be employed. Such layers can be a semiconductor or adielectric and can be disposed in between TD 53 and BD 54 or can bedisposed adjacent to only one of them.

The unique portion of the conductor-filter system of FIG. 7 lies on itscapability of providing charge carriers transporting in tight energydistribution. Such capability is a result of the “low-pass” carrierprovider function of the conductor 50 and the high-pass filter functionof the filter 52. Combing both such functions, the conductor-filtersystem of FIG. 7 provides a “band-pass” filtering function that permitscharge carriers having narrow energy spectrum in their distribution betransported. The band-pass filtering function is one embodiment of thefiltering function of filter 52, and permits the conductor-filter systemfunctioning as a “band-pass filter” having a “bandwidth” controlled bythe Fermi-level energy 16 ₅₀ and the threshold energy 58. Typically, theenergy spectrum is in the range from about 30 meV to about 300 meV.

The filter 52 provides filtering effect on passing electrons havingenergy higher than the threshold energy 58. This results in passingelectrons in the peak distribution 57 p and blocking electrons in thetail distribution 57 t. The energy distribution 57′ of electrons 56′ isshown as an example illustrating the “band-pass” filtering function ofthe conductor-filter system of FIG. 7, and the distribution 57′ is shownsimilar to the peak distribution 57 p of the distribution 57 toillustrate this effect. For best “band-pass” filtering effect, theenergy spectrum Δ57′ of distribution 57′ typically can be narrowed orwiden by adjusting the threshold energy 58 at a higher or a lower level,respectively, than level shown in FIG. 7. Ability on adjusting energyspectrum Δ57′ is desirable as it permits a modulation on “bandwidth” ofthe band-pass filter for filtering effect in any practical application.This can be done by adjusting the voltage applied across filter 52 or byadjusting other parameters to be described in following paragraphs.

In constructing the filter 52 of FIG. 7, BD 54 having a largerdielectric constant relative to that of TD 53 is usually desirable forfollowing considerations. First, it reduces the electric field in BD 54,which can reduce the tunneling probability of electrons in the taildistribution 57 t, and hence can enhance the blocking effect on theseelectrons. Furthermore, when applying a voltage across the filter 52 forthe filtering effect, the larger dielectric constant for BD 54 permits alarger portion of the applied voltage appearing across TD 53. Thisenhances voltage conversion between applied voltage and voltage acrossTD, thus has advantages on lowering the applied voltage required for thefiltering effect, increasing sensitivity of the applied voltage on thefiltering effect, and increasing blocking range in energy spectrum forelectrons distributed in the tail distribution.

Additionally, other parameters can also be considered in constructingthe filter 52 of FIG. 7 for adjusting the energy spectrum Δ57′. One suchparameter is the conduction band offset 55 between BD and TD. Theconduction band offset 55 can be tailored at different values to controlthe threshold energy 58 beyond which electrons 56 in the distribution 57are permitted to tunnel through the filter 52. This can be done byproperly choosing materials for BD 54 and for TD 53. In a specificexample, when choosing oxide as the material for TD 53, a dielectricfilm of oxynitride system (“SiO_(x)N_(1-x)”) will be a good candidatefor BD 54 because of its well-proven manufacturing-worthy film qualityand process control. In SiO_(x)N_(1-x), the “x” is the fractional oxideor the equivalent percentage of oxide in the oxynitride film. Forexample, x=1 is for case where the film is a pure oxide; similarly x=0is for case where the film is a pure nitride. As the fractional oxide xis changed from 0 to 1, the conduction band offset 55 can be changedfrom about 1 eV to 0 eV. Thus, a tailoring on the fractional oxide x inSiO_(x)N_(1-x) permits a tailoring on the conduction band offset 55 to adesired range for filter 52, and hence provide method on adjusting theenergy spectrum Δ57′ (i.e. the “bandwidth” of the band-pass filter) torange desired for use in practical applications.

Other parameters such as thicknesses of TD 53 and BD 54 and Fermi-levelenergy 16 ₅₀ of conductor 50 can also be used to provide methodadjusting the threshold energy level 58, and its level relative to theFermi-level energy 16 ₅₀, and hence the “band-width” of the band-passfilter. These parameters are considered herein in constructing theconductor-filter system of FIG. 7. For illustration purpose,polysilicon, oxide, and nitride are assumed as the materials forconductor, TD 53, and BD 54, respectively, of the conductor-filtersystem of FIG. 7. The oxide of TD is assumed having a thickness of 30 Å.FIG. 8 shows the relative energy level of the threshold energy 58 to theFermi-level 16 ₅₀ for two cases illustrated here. The range wherethreshold energy to Fermi-level is in negative value corresponds tosituation where threshold energy is at level lower than the Fermi-level,and the difference between them corresponds to the “band-width” of theband-pass filter. The two cases have differences on Fermi-level of thepolysilicon (n+ vs. p+ polysilicon) and on applied voltage Va across thefilter 52. The applied voltage Va can determine the kinetic energy ofelectrons 56′ after tunneling through the filter. Referring to FIG. 8,for the case with p+ polysilicon and Va=−4V, the range where thresholdenergy is under the Fermi-level ranges from 0 eV to about 0.4 eV asreducing a thickness of BD (“T_(BD)”) from about 30 Å to about 20 Å. Forthe case with n+ polysilicon and Va=−3V, a wider range (about 0.8 eV)for threshold energy under the Fermi-level is shown for T_(BD) withinthe range of 50 Å to 20 Å.

It should now be clear that the threshold energy relative to Fermi-levelof conductor can be adjusted by method adjusting thicknesses of TD andBD in the filter and/or by adjusting Fermi-level of conductor. Suchmethod can be used to tailor the band-width of the transporting chargeto a desired range for a practical application. The kinetic energy oftransporting charge carriers can be controlled and targeted to anapplication by employing this method.

The conductor-filter system of FIG. 7 can be used to provide band-passfilter function for other type of charge carriers, such as holes (e.g.light-holes (“LH”) or heavy holes (“HH”)). Similar considerations asdescribed in connection with FIGS. 7 and 8 for electrons can be readilyapplied to these holes by considering the tunneling barriers of filter52 formed in the valence band of energy band diagram. Due to theopposite charge polarity of holes to electrons, band-pass filteringholes can be done by reversing the voltage polarity across filter 52from the one shown in FIG. 7.

It should also be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that theteachings of this disclosure can be applied to modify the dielectrics offilter through which the filtered charge distribution can be tailoredfor the filtering effect. For example, although the dielectric constantof BD 54 is illustrated to be greater than that of TD 53, it should beclear that the teaching of this disclosure can be applied to modify theBD 54 to material having dielectric constant similar to that of TD 53 toeffectively pass charge carriers in peak distribution during tunnelingtransport. Furthermore, TD 53 and BD 54 need not be of materials havinga uniform chemical element but can be materials having gradedcomposition on its element. In addition, any appropriate dielectric,such as aluminum oxide (“Al₂ 0 ₃”), hafnium oxide (“HfO₂”), titaniumoxide (“TiO₂”), zirconium oxide (“ZrO₂”), tantalum pen-oxide (“Ta₂O₅”)etc. can be used in place of oxide, nitride, or oxynitride. Furthermore,any composition of those materials and the alloys formed thereof, suchas hafnium oxide-oxide alloy (“HfO₂—SiO₂”), hafnium-aluminum-oxide alloy(“HfAlO”), hafnium- oxynitride alloy (“HfSiON”) etc. can be used inplace of oxide, nitride, or oxynitride.

FIG. 9 provides an energy band diagram of a charge-injection system forone embodiment of the present invention on injecting charges havingtight energy distribution. The energy band structure of thecharge-injection system is illustrated on injecting electrons. Referringto FIG. 9, there is shown a conductor-filter system 59 of the typedescribed in connection with FIG. 7, a conductor-insulator system 60 ofthe type described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 5, a charge storageregion (“CSR”) 66, a channel dielectric (“CD”) 68, and a body 70. Theenergy band structure of FIG. 9 is shown with its full band structure.For example, in the conductor-filter system 59, there are also shownvalence bands 44 ₅₃ and 44 ₅₄ in addition to the conduction bands 18 ₅₃and 18 ₅₄ of FIG. 7. The conductor-filter system 59 comprises atunneling-gate (“TG”) 61, and a charge filter 52. The filter 52 includespotential barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄, and has a threshold energy 58established by the barriers for controlling its filtering effect asdescribed in connection with FIG. 7. The filter 52 further comprises thetunneling dielectric (“TD”) 53 and the blocking dielectric (“BD”) 54 asdescribed in connection with FIG. 7. The conductor-insulator system 60comprises a ballistic gate (“BG”) 62 and a retention dielectric (“RD”)64 as the conductor and the insulator of the system, respectively. Theenergy band diagram of the charge-injection system in regions from TG 61to RD 64 is constructed by “contacting” the filter 52 of theconductor-filter system 59 to the conductor (BG 62) of theconductor-insulator system 60. TG 61 and BG 62 are of metals having workfunction with Fermi-levels 16 ₆₁ and 16 ₆₂, respectively. CSR 66 isshown insulated from BG 62 and body 70 by dielectrics RD 64 and CD 68,respectively, and comprises semiconductor having a conduction band 18 ₆₆and a valence band 44 ₆₆ and of n-type conductivity. CSR 66 may comprisesemiconductor of other type of conductivity (e.g. p-type), and maycomprise metal or any other suitable material (e.g. nano-particles ortraps in dielectrics) used for storing charge carriers. Body 70comprises semiconductor having conduction bands 18 ₇₀, and valence band44 ₇₀, respectively, and can be used to modulate an Image-Force barrier24 ₆₄ of the conductor-Insulator system 60 by coupling voltage into CSR66 through CD 68. Dielectrics RD 64 and CD 68 are shown in single layerand can generally comprise more than one layer to form a compositelayer.

FIG. 9 further provides illustration on process forming and injectingcharges having tight energy distribution. There are shown thermalelectrons 56 having an energy distribution 57 on population be suppliedby TG 61 as supplied carriers. These electrons 56 are filtered by filter52 during their tunneling transport through the filter 52 via mechanismsdescribed in connection with FIG. 7. After filtered, thermal electronsbecome electrons 56′ having a tighter energy distribution 57′ than thedistribution 57 before filtered. Such electrons 56′ are fed to theconductor-insulator system 60. In one case, a portion of the electrons56′ can transport through BG 62 without scattering (“ballistictransport”) at a kinetic energy 33 higher than the Fermi-level 16 ₆₂ ofBG 62 to become energized electrons 37 at the interface of BG 62 and RD64. Such electrons 37 (termed “ballistic electrons”) do not experiencescattering with other particles (e.g. electrons, phonons etc.), andhence can conserve their kinetic directional energy and momentum alongoriginal movement. In another case, electrons 56′ can transport throughBG 62 in partial scattering (“partially ballistic transport”) with otherparticles and can still maintain their kinetic energy 33 high enough anddirectional toward the interface of BG 62 and RD 64 to become electrons37. In all cases, such energized electrons 37 can surmount a barrierheight 20 of the Image-Force barrier 24 ₆₄ in mechanism as described inconnection with FIGS. 3B and 5, entering a conduction band 18 ₆₄ of RD64, making their way there through to become electrons 37′ having anenergy distribution 38′ on their population, and finally got collectedand stored on CSR 66 as electrons 71 in the conduction band 18 ₆₆. Suchprocess in forming and injecting charges (either in the ballistictransport or in the partially ballistic transport) is termed asballistic-charge injection mechanism. When electrons are selected as thecharge carriers, such mechanism is termed as ballistic-electroninjection. Typically, the energy distribution of the energized chargecarriers (electrons 37) has an energy spectrum in the range of about 30meV to about 300 meV. The injection efficiency (defined as the ratio ofnumber of carriers collected to the number of carriers supplied) of suchelectrons typically ranges from about 10⁻⁴ to about 10⁻¹. The injectionefficiency can be further enhanced by injecting piezo-electrons (see thepiezo-ballistic-electron injection mechanism as described in connectionwith FIG. 17B).

The ballistic-charge injection shown in FIG. 9 illustrates theballistic-electron injection and is done by applying a voltage betweenTG 61 and BG 62 such that electrons 37 have a kinetic energy 33 higherthan the Image-Force barrier height 20 of the conductor-insulator system60. Such voltage can be lowered by lowering barrier height 20 of theImage-Force barrier 24 ₆₄ by using means as described in connection withFIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C. This can be done by for example coupling a positivevoltage (e.g. from about +1 V to about +3 V) to CSR 66. Alternately, thebarrier height 20 can be lowered by choosing material for CSR 66 havinga lower work-function (or a higher Fermi-level energy) than that of BG62.

FIG. 10 provides an energy band diagram for another embodiment of thecharge-injection system on injecting electrons having tight energydistribution. In the conductor-filter system 59 of FIG. 10, theconductor 61 supplies thermal charge carriers 56. The filter 52 contactsthe conductor 61 and includes dielectrics 53 and 54 for providing afiltering function on the charge carriers 56 of one polarity (negativecharge carriers), wherein the filter includes electrically alterablepotential barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄ for controlling flow of the chargecarriers 56 of one polarity through the filter 52 in one direction(forward direction 34). In addition to controlling the one polarity ofcharge carriers (negative charge carrier, electrons 56), the filter 52further includes electrically alterable potential barriers 42 ₅₃ and 42₅₄ for controlling the flow of charge carriers of an opposite polarity(positive charge carriers, LH 72 and HH 73) through the filter inanother direction (backward direction 74) that is substantially oppositeto the one direction.

Such filtering function permits charge carriers of one polarity typetransporting along the forward direction 34 (i.e. from TG 61 to BG 62)and blocks charge carriers of an opposite polarity type transportingalong a backward direction 74 (i.e. from BG 62 to TG 61). Thus, thefilter 52 provides a charge-filtering function that can “purify” thecharge flow. The charge-filtering function is another embodiment of thefiltering function of filter 52.

The diagram in FIG. 10 is in all respects the same as that of FIG. 9except few differences. One of the differences is that instead of usingmetal as material for the conductor regions of the conductor-filtersystem 59 and of the conductor-insulator system 60, these conductorregions (i.e. TG 61 and BG 62) are now provided with semiconductorhaving conduction band 18 ₆₁ and valence band 44 ₆₁, and conduction band18 ₆₂ and valence band 44 ₆₂ for TG 61 and BG 62, respectively. TG 61 isshown of a p-type semiconductor having thermal electrons 56 in thevalence band 44 ₆₁ as the supplied carriers. Such electrons 56 and theirenergy distribution 57 go through identical transport processes asdescribed in connection with FIG. 9, and a portion of electrons 56 areable to enter CSR 66 to become electrons 37′ having energy distribution38′, and finally be collected and stored on CSR 66 as electrons 71 insimilar way as described in connection with FIG. 9.

For the example shown in FIG. 10, when applying voltage having polarityto inject electrons 56 in TG 61 along the forward direction 34, itsimultaneously induces holes LH 72 and HH 73 in BG 62 to transport alongthe backward direction 74. The backward transporting LH 72 and HH 73 canresult in undesired problems. For example, it can triggerimpact-ionization in TG 61 when they got backward transported into thatregion due to their higher energy than the valence band 44 ₆₁. Further,these holes do not contribute to memory operation when employing theballistic-electron-injection for a program operation of a memory cell.Therefore, it can waste electrical current and hence power. It is thusdesirable to block LH 72 and HH 73 from backward transporting into TG61.

The energy band structure in FIG. 10 shows the backward-transportingcarriers (i.e. LH 72 and HH 73) has to transport through more barriersthan the forward-transporting carriers (i.e. electrons 56) do, and henceprovides filtering effect on blocking the backward-transportingcarriers. The filtering effect is based on the energy band structureconstructed by potential barriers in filter 52. A first potentialbarrier 42 ₅₄ blocking the backward transporting holes 72 and 73comprises barrier heights 41 ₅₄ and 41′₅₄ at an entrance side and at anexit side of barrier 42 ₅₄, respectively. Both barrier heights 41 ₅₄ and41′₅₄ are referenced to valence band 44 ₅₄ of BD 54. A second potentialbarrier 42 ₅₃ having a barrier height 41 ₅₃ at its entrance side formsanother barrier blocking holes 72 and 73. The barrier height 41 ₅₃ isreferenced to valence band 44 ₅₃ of TD 53 at the interface between TD 53and BD 54.

The filter 52 provided herein is based on a barrier height engineeringconcept. One specific embodiment on the conductor-filter andconductor-insulator systems 59 and 60 that is used for illustrating theconcept comprises a p+ polysilicon for TG 61, an oxide layer for TD 53,a nitride layer for BD 54, an n+ polysilicon for BG 62, and an oxidelayer for RD 64. The n+ polysilicon is considered for BG 62 due toseveral considerations. A major consideration lies in the much highersolid solubility for n-type impurities (e.g. Arsenic, phosphorous etc)than that for p-type impurities (e.g. Boron). Impurity with a highersolid solubility is desirable as it usually can dope the silicon heavierto result in a lower sheet resistance, and is favorable for integratedcircuits (IC) application. In the embodiment, polysilicon is employed asthe material for TG 61 and BG 62 due to its well proven yield,manufacturability, and compatibility with state of the art ICtechnology. An oxide with a thickness of about 7 nm to 10 nm is employedfor RD 64 due to the same reason. The oxide layer used for TD 53 can bewith a thickness in the range of about 1.5 nm to 4 nm and preferably inthe range of about 2 nm to 3.5 nm. The thickness of TD 53 layer ischosen in the range where charge-carriers (electrons, LH or HH)transporting across the layer are primarily through the direct tunnelingmechanism. The thickness of BD 54 is chosen to block any type ofcharge-carriers from tunneling transport through both BD 54 and TD 53layers when a modest voltage in the range of about 1 V to about 2.5V isapplied between TG 61 and BG 62. The thickness of BD 54 is furtherchosen to permit one type of charge carriers (e.g. electrons)transporting in the forward direction and to block the other type ofcharge carriers (e.g. LH) from transporting in the backward directionwhen in a higher voltage range (3V or higher). As will be described inthe barrier height engineering theory hereinafter, the selection onthickness of BD 54 is also determined by it dielectric constant. Ingeneral, the thickness of BD 54 can be thinner or thicker than that ofTD 53 provided filter 52 can effectively meet the forgoing requirements.For example, in the specific embodiment here, if an oxide with 3 nm (or30 Å) is chosen for TD 53, then the minimum thickness for BD 54 can beabout 2 nm (or 20 Å) or thicker. For the specific embodiment, the oxidefor TD 53 can be a HTO (high temperature oxide) or a TEOS layer formedby using conventional deposition technique, or a thermal oxide by usingthermal oxidation technique well-known in the art. The nitride for BD 54can be a high quality nitride without charge trapping centers in itsband gap. This high quality nitride can be formed in NH₃ (ammonia)ambient at a high temperature (e.g. 1050° C.) by using, for example, RTN(Rapid Thermal Nitridation) technique well-known in the art.

While oxide and nitride are shown as the materials for TD 53 and BD 54,respectively, in the specific embodiment, such showing is only by way ofexample and any other types of dielectric materials and theircombination can be readily employed for TD and BD. For example, inanother embodiment, TD 53 can comprises oxide having a thickness in arange of about 1.5 nm to about 4 nm and BD 54 can comprises materialselected from the group consisting of nitride, oxynitride, Al₂O₃, HfO₂,TiO₂, ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅, and alloys formed thereof. In still anotherembodiment, TD 53 can comprises oxynitride having a thickness in a rangeof about 1.5 nm to about 4 nm and BD 54 can comprises material selectedfrom the group consisting of nitride, Al₂O₃, HfO₂, TiO₂, ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅,and alloys formed thereof.

Barrier Height Engineering for Ballistic-Charges-Injection

A greater detail on the barrier height engineering concept is nowprovided. FIG. 11 illustrates an energy band diagram similar to that inFIG. 10 except with less band bending in the energy band of filter 62 toreveal more details on barrier heights. In addition to those regions andtheir reference indicators shown in FIG. 10, in FIG. 11 there is shown abarrier height 41′₅₃ of valence band offset between 44 ₆₂ and 44 ₅₃. Thebarrier height 41′₅₃ is at the exit side of the second hole potentialbarrier 42 ₅₃ for blocking the backward transporting LH 72 and HH 73.Moreover, there is shown a first electron potential barrier 24 ₅₃ formedby TD 53 and having barrier heights 20 ₅₃ and 20′₅₃ at the entrance andthe exit sides, respectively, of barrier 24 ₅₃ for blocking the forwardtransporting electrons 56. Further, there is shown a second electronpotential barrier 24 ₅₄ formed by BD 54 and having barrier heights 20 ₅₄and 20′₅₄ at the entrance and the exit sides of barrier 24 ₅₄,respectively. The second electron potential barrier 24 ₅₄ also has theeffect on blocking the forward transporting electrons 56.

It is now clear that with the energy band structure in accordance withthe present invention, there are two electron barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄relevant to the forward transporting charges of electrons 56. Similarly,there are two hole barriers 42 ₅₄ and 42 ₅₃ relevant to the backwardtransporting holes 72 and 73 of BG 62. To permit an efficientballistic-electrons-injection, it is desirable that the barriers heightsof the first and the second electrons barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄ can beelectrically altered to assist the transport along the forward direction34. In a contrast, to block holes 72 and 73 of BG 62 from backwardtransporting to TG 61, it is desired to keep the barrier heights of thefirst and the second hole barrier 42 ₅₄ and 42 ₅₃ high enough throughout the voltage range for the ballistic charge injection.

Referring to FIG. 11, the barrier height 20 ₅₄ (ΔΦ_(VE) _(—) _(TB)) ofthe second electron barrier 24 ₅₄ can be expressed to a first order byfollowing formula:ΔΦ_(VE) _(—) _(TB)=ΔΦ_(CB) _(—) _(TB) +Eg−|V _(TD)|  (1)where

ΔΦ_(CB) _(—) _(TB) is the conduction band offset between TG 61 and BD 54when under the flat-band condition,

V_(TD) is the voltage drop across TD duringballistic-electron-injection, and is expressed asV _(TD)=(V _(a) −V _(fb))/[1+(ε_(TD) *T _(BD))/(ε_(BD) *T _(TD))];

-   V_(a) is the applied voltage across TG 61 and BG 62 (i.e. voltage    drop across filter 52);-   V_(fb) is the flat-band voltage;-   Eg is the energy gap of TG 61;

Similarly, the barrier height 41 ₅₃ (ΔΦ_(VH) _(—) _(GT)) of the secondhole barrier 42 ₅₃ for blocking backward transporting holes can beexpressed as following formula:ΔΦ_(VH) _(—) _(CT)=ΔΦ_(VB) _(—) _(GT) −|V _(BD)|  (2)where

ΔΦ_(VB) _(—) _(GT) is the valence band offset between BG 62 and TD 53under flat-band condition,

V_(BD) is the voltage drop across BD 54 duringballistic-electron-injection, and is expressed asV _(BD)=(V _(a) −V _(fb))/[1+(ε_(BD) *T _(TD))/(ε_(TD) *T _(BD))].

From the foregoing formula (1) and (2), it is clear that barrier height20 ₅₄ (ΔΦ_(VE) _(—) _(TB)) and barrier height 41 ₅₃ (ΔΦ_(VH) _(—) _(GT))have different dependence on Va. The barrier height dependence onvoltage is asymmetrical and is primarily determined by the combinedeffects of dielectric constant and dielectric thickness (i.e. the “εTeffect”).

FIG. 12A illustrates an example on the barrier height engineeringconcept using the theory described herein forballistic-electron-injection. As is apparent, when decreasing theapplied voltage between TG 61 and BG 62, the barrier height 20 ₅₄(ΔΦ_(VE) _(—) _(TB)) for electrons at TG 61 decreases faster than thebarrier height 41 ₅₃ (ΔΦ_(VH) _(—) _(GT)) for LH 72 and HH 73 in BG 62.In other words, barrier height 41 ₅₃ has a weaker voltage-dependencethan barrier height 20 ₅₄. With such difference on voltage-dependence,the barrier height 20 ₅₄ (ΔΦ_(VE) _(—) _(TB)) in fact are shifted underthe Fermi-level energy 16 ₆₁ (i.e. at barrier height equals zero) at anapplied voltage of about −3.5V while there is still a sufficient barrierheight of about 3.4 eV remained for the barrier height 41 ₅₃ (ΔΦ_(VH)_(—) _(GT)). FIG. 10 illustrates the energy band diagram for situationwhen the applied voltage is decreased beyond this voltage level. Asshown in FIG. 10, the second barrier 24 ₅₄ for electrons 56 shown inFIG. 11 is now under Fermi-level energy 16 ₆₁ as the applied voltage isdecreased beyond this voltage level. Therefore, electrons 56 of TG 61having energy higher than the threshold energy 58 can transport throughfilter 52 without being blocked by BD 64 layer. This permits theband-pass filtering function of the conductor-filter system 59 to injectelectrons having tight energy distribution 57′ along the forwarddirection 34. The much weaker dependence of barrier height 41 ₅₃(ΔΦ_(VH) _(—) _(GT)) on the applied voltage maintains the barrier 42 ₅₃for blocking holes in this voltage range and hence can prevent holesfrom backward transport. Therefore, the barriers engineering concepthere actually provides a method through which an electrically alterablefilter is constructed for ballistic-electron-injection. The filterprovides unique feature filtering out the unwanted carriers (i.e. thebackward transporting LH 72 and HH 73) without affecting the transportof the wanted carriers (i.e. the forward transporting electrons 56).

The illustrations on formula (1) and (2) and on results shown in FIG.12A are made by way of example to demonstrate voltage-dependence ofbarrier heights on two barrier heights 20 ₅₄ and 41 ₅₄. Similarillustrations can be readily made on other barrier heights (such as20′₅₃ and 20′₅₄ of barriers 24 ₅₃ and 24 ₅₄, respectively, and 41′53 and41 ₅₃ of barrier 42 ₅₃) of filter 52 in FIG. 11. It is thus clear thatthe barrier heights of the potential barriers controlling the backwardtransporting charge carriers have a weaker voltage-dependence on voltagedrop across the filter than barrier heights of the potential barrierscontrolling the forward transporting charge carriers have.

It is desirable to keep the voltage across BD (V_(BD)) be less than thebarrier height 41 ₅₄ in voltage range normally used forballistic-electrons-injection. Keeping V_(BD) lower than barrier height41 ₅₄ is desirable because it can maintain a trapezoidal-shaped bandstructure for holes barrier 42 ₅₄ in BD 64 to block the backwardinjected LH 72 and HH 73 more effectively. This barrier structure canbecome clear by referring to FIG. 10, wherein barrier height 41 ₅₄ formsone side of the barrier 42 ₅₄ (the entrance side for holes 72 and 73)and barrier height 41′₅₄ forms the other side of the barrier (the exitside for holes 72 and 73). The barrier height 41′₅₄ at the exit side ofthe trapezoidal barrier 42 ₅₄ to first order equals ΔΦ_(VB) _(—)_(GB)−V_(BD), where ΔΦ_(VB) _(—) _(GB) is the barrier height 41 ₅₄. Inthe specific embodiment for band structure of FIG. 10, for an appliedvoltage of −4V between TG 61 and BG 62, the barrier height 41′₅₄ isabout 0.7 eV, and hence the trapezoidal structure for barrier 42 ₅₄ ismaintained. It is clear that barrier height 41′₅₄ can be made higher bylowering V_(BD) through optimizing dielectric constant and thickness ofTD 53 and BD 54, as taught in the foregoing theory.

For the specific embodiment, voltage of TG 61 is chosen in the range ofabout −3.5 V to about −4.5 V relative to voltage of BG 62 for theballistic-electrons-injection. Such voltage can be further lowered bylowering the Image-Force barrier height 20 of the conductor-insulatorsystem 60 as described in connection with FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C. This canbe done by coupling a voltage in the range of about 1 V to about 3 V toCSR 66. Alternately, the Image-Force barrier can be lowered by choosingmaterial for CSR 66 having a smaller work-function (or a higherFermi-level energy) than that of BG 62.

Lowering voltage applied between TG 61 and BG 62 by lowering theImage-Force barrier brings desirable effects to the present invention.One of the major advantages is on lowering the electric field indielectrics between TG and BG, and can prevent high-field relatedproblems from occurring in the dielectrics (e.g. dielectric breakdown,which can result in permanent damage to the dielectrics).

The filter 52 further provides a voltage divider function in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention. The voltage-dividerfunction reduces voltage drops in the dielectrics of the filter 52.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example on the voltage divider function usingthe barrier height engineering concept described herein forballistic-electron-injection. Referring to FIG. 12B, there is shownvoltages across various dielectrics versus voltage across the filter 52.As is apparent, the voltage across the filter 52, and hence voltageapplied between TG 61 and BG 62, is divided and shared by regions withinthe filter 52. The voltage divider function provided by the filter 52thus permits voltage applied between TG 61 and BG 62 be divided andshared by BD 54 and TD 53 without compromisingballistic-charge-injection. The voltage divider function reduces thevoltage withheld by each of these dielectrics and can prevents thedielectric breakdown problem.

One of the unique portions of the present invention lies in the effectsprovided by the barrier height engineering concept and itsimplementation in the filter 52. Such effects provide the voltagedivider function and prevent dielectric breakdown problem that canhappen during the charge injection. Moreover, impact-ionization problemin TG 60, which can be triggered by the backward transporting chargecarriers, can be effectively prevented while suppressing these carriersfrom backward transport by employing the filtering effect on chargeblocking.

It is thus clear the filter and the energy band structure illustrated inthe present invention can effectively block charge carriers of onepolarity type from transporting along a backward direction while passingcharge carriers of an opposite polarity type transporting along aforward direction during the ballistic-charge-injection. Thus, thefilter 52 provides a charge-filtering function that can “purify” thecharge flow. Though not required, it is generally desirable that thematerial for BG 62 has a Fermi level in the flat band condition lies inabout the middle of the energy band gap of BD 54 of filter 52 to bestutilize the charge-filtering function when the band structure and theinjection mechanism are employed in constructing memory cells.

The forgoing illustration on the ballistic-charge-injection and thebarrier height engineering theory is made on electrons. Similarillustration can be readily made for light-holes and heavy-holes toachieve similar effects on charge filtering and injection.

FIG. 13 provides an energy band diagram to illustrate theballistic-charge-injection and filtering effect for holes in thecharge-injection system of the FIG. 10 type. In the conductor-filtersystem 59 of FIG. 13, the conductor 61 supplies thermal charge carriers75 and 76. The filter 52 contacts the conductor 61 and includesdielectrics 53 and 54 for providing a filtering function on the chargecarriers 75 and 76 of one polarity (positive charge carriers), whereinthe filter includes electrically alterable potential barriers 42 _(53b)and 42 _(54b) for controlling flow of the charge carriers 75 and 76 ofone polarity through the filter 52 in one direction (forward direction34). In addition to controlling the one polarity of charge carriers(positive charge carriers 75 and 76), the filter 52 further includeselectrically alterable potential barriers 24 _(53b) and 24 _(54b) forcontrolling the flow of charge carriers of an opposite polarity(negative charge carriers, electrons 84) through the filter in anotherdirection (backward direction 74) that is substantially opposite to theone direction.

Such filtering function permits charge carriers of one polarity typetransporting along the forward direction 34 and blocks charge carriersof an opposite polarity type transporting along a backward direction 74.Thus, the filter 52 provides a charge-filtering function that can“purify” the charge flow. The charge-filtering function is anotherembodiment of the filtering function of filter 52, and is similar to thecharge-filtering function as described in connection with FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 13, there is shown LH 75 and HH 76 in the valence band44 ₆₁ of TG 61 as the supplied carriers for injection. LH 75 and HH 76are shown transporting along the forward direction 34 in an energydistribution 77 on their population. Although energy distribution for LH75 and HH 76 are shown in same distribution 77, it is noted that LH 75and HH 76 can have different energy distributions on their populationdue to differences on their effective masses.

In FIG. 13, both LH 75 and HH 76 are shown transporting through barriersof filter 52 in quantum mechanical tunneling mechanism to become LH 75′and NH 76′ having a kinetic energy 46 with respect to the valence bandof BG 62 that is slightly higher than a barrier height 41 of anImage-Force baffler 42 ₆₄. When these carriers transport further alongthe forward direction, their transport behaviors through BG 62 are verydifferent due to their difference on effective mass. For HH 76′, due totheir heavy effective mass, the mean-free-path can be very short.Therefore, NH 76′ are prone to experience scattering events with otherparticles (e.g. phonons), and have low ballistic transport efficiency(“ballisticity”). In FIG. 13, NH 76′ are shown experiencing scatteringevents and losing their energy to become NH 79. Further, these scatteredNH 79 are shown having a broad energy distribution 81 than original one77 due to scattering. Such holes 79 are shown transporting at energybelow a barrier height 41 of an Image-Force barrier 42 ₆₄ at the valenceband 44 ₆₄ of RD 64, and hence are blocked from transporting overbarrier 42 ₆₄ and cannot enter CSR 66. In a contrast, the LN 75′ has alighter effective mass, and hence a much longer mean-free-path than thatof HH 76′ (for example, in silicon, the mean-free-path of LH is about 3times of that of HH). In one case, a portion of these LH 75′ cantransport through BG 62, without scattering (i.e. in ballistictransport), at the kinetic energy 46 to become energized charge carriersLH 78 at the interface of BG 62 and RD 64. Such LH 78 (also termed“ballistic LH”) do not experience scattering with other particles (e.g.phonons), and hence can conserve their kinetic directional energy andmomentum along original movement and their energy distribution 80similar to the original one 77. In another case, LH 75′ can transportthrough BG 62 in the partial ballistic scattering, and still canmaintain their kinetic energy 46 high enough and directional toward theinterface of BG 62 and RD 64 to become LH 78. In all cases, such LH 78can surmount the barrier height 41 of the Image-Force barrier 42 ₆₄ inmechanism as described in connection with FIG. 6, entering a valenceband 44 ₆₄ of RD 64, making their way there through to become LH 78′having an energy distribution 80′ on their population, and finally gotcollected and stored on CSR 66 as holes 82 in the valence band 44 ₆₆.Such process in filtering and injecting hole charges (either in theballistic transport or in the partially ballistic transport) is termedas ballistic-holes-injection mechanism. Typically, the energydistribution 80 of the energized charge carriers (LH 78) has an energyspectrum in the range of about 30 meV to about 300 meV. The injectionefficiency (defined as the ratio of number of carriers collected to thenumber of carriers supplied) of such holes typically ranges from about10⁻⁶ to about 10⁻³. The injection efficiency can be further enhanced byinjecting piezo-holes (see the piezo-ballistic-hole injection mechanismas described in connection with FIGS. 17B, 17C).

For the specific embodiment on materials for systems 59 and 60 asdescribed in connection with FIG. 10, voltage of TG 61 is chosen in therange of about +5 V to about +6.0 V relative to voltage of BG 62 for theballistic-holes-injection. Such voltage can be further lowered bylowering the Image-Force barrier height 41 of the conductor-insulatorsystem 60 as described in connection with FIG. 6. This can be done byfor example coupling a voltage in the range of about −1 V to about −3 Vto CSR 66. Alternately, the Image-Force barrier height can be lowered bychoosing material for CSR 66 having a larger work-function (or a lowerFermi-level energy) than that of BG 62.

The voltage applied between TG 61 and BG 62 can be further reduced byemploying materials having similar Fermi-level energy for these regions.This constitutes another specific embodiment on materials for systems 59and 60 for the ballistic-hole-injection. For example, thecharge-injection system can comprise a p+ polysilicon for TG 61, anoxide layer for TD 53, a nitride layer for BD 54, a p+ polysilicon forBG 62, and an oxide layer for RD 64. Such embodiment allows voltage ofTG 61 relative to voltage of BG 62 be chosen in a lower range (e.g. fromabout +4.5 V to about +5.5 V) for the ballistic-holes-injection.

FIG. 13 further shows that electrons 84 in conduction band 18 ₆₂ of BG62 can transport along the backward direction 74 while biasing theenergy band structure in the voltage polarity for transporting LH 75 andHH 76 along the forward direction 34. The backward transportingelectrons 84 can result in undesired problems such as impact-ionizationin TG 61, current and power waste etc. that are similar to thoseproblems caused by backward transporting holes as described inconnection with FIG. 10. It is thus desirable to block electrons 84 frombackward transporting into TG 61 by using the filter 52.

The energy band structure in FIG. 13 shows the backward-transportingcarriers (i.e. electrons 84) have to transport through more barriersthan the forward-transporting carriers (i.e. LH 75 and HH 76) do. Afirst electron barrier 24 _(54b) blocking the backward transportingelectrons 84 comprises barrier heights 20 _(54b) and 20′_(54b) at anentrance side and an exit side, respectively, of the barrier 24 _(54b).Barrier heights 20 _(54b) and 20′_(54b) are referenced to conductionband 18 ₅₄ of BD 54 at interface between BD 54 and BG 62 and between TD53 and BD 54, respectively. A second electron barrier 24 _(53b) is shownhaving a barrier height 20 _(53b) at its entrance side and forms anotherbarrier blocking electrons 84. The barrier height 20 _(53b) isreferenced to conduction band 18 ₅₃ of TD 53 at the interface between TD53 and BD 54. A barrier height 20′_(53b) (not shown) exists at an exitside of barrier 24 _(53b), and is referenced to conduction band 18 ₅₃ ofTD 53 at the interface between TG 61 and TD 53. In the example shownhere, barrier height 20′_(53b) is below the energy level of electrons84, and hence is not shown in FIG. 13. Both barriers 24 _(54b) and 24_(53b) form an energy band structure in the conduction band of filter 52to block backward-transporting electrons 84.

There are two similar barriers for holes 75 and 76 on their transportingpath along the forward direction 34. A first potential barrier 42 _(53b)is formed by TD 53 and has barrier heights 41 _(53b) and 41′_(53b) atthe entrance and the exit sides, respectively, of barrier 42 _(53b). Asecond barrier 42 _(54b) is formed by BD 54 and has barrier heights 41_(54b) and 41′_(54b) (not shown) at the entrance and the exit sides ofbarrier 42 _(54b), respectively. Both the first and the second barriers42 _(53b) and 42 _(54b) form energy band structure in the valence bandof filter 52 and have effect on blocking the forward transporting holes75 and 76. In FIG. 13, the energy band structure is biased to injectholes. Both barrier heights 41 _(54b) and 41′_(54b) are below the energylevel of forward transporting holes, and hence are not shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 14 illustrates the effect of the barrier height engineering inaccordance with the present invention for ballistic-holes-injection,wherein the barrier height 20′_(54b) of the backward transportingelectrons is shown having a weaker voltage-dependence on voltage dropacross filter 52 (i.e. voltage between TG 61 and BG 62) than the barrierheight 41 _(54b) of the forward transporting holes has. Hence, the twobarrier heights 20′_(54b) and 41 _(54b) can be altered in differentdegree by voltage drop across filter 52. This barrier height dependenceon voltage is asymmetrical and is primarily governed by the combinedeffects of dielectric constant and dielectric thickness (i.e. the “εTeffect”), as illustrated in the barrier height engineering theory. As isapparent, when increasing the applied voltage between TG 61 and BG 62,the barrier height 41 _(54b) for holes 65 and 76 of TG 61 decreasesfaster than the barrier height 20′_(54b) for electrons 84 in BG 62. Inother words, barrier height 20′_(54b) has a weaker voltage-dependencethan barrier height 41 _(54b). The barrier height 41 _(54b) in fact isshifted below hole energy (i.e. at barrier height equals zero) at anapplied voltage of about +3.5V while there is still a sufficient barrierheight of about +2.5 eV remained for the barrier height 20′_(54b). FIG.13 illustrates the energy band diagram for situation when the appliedvoltage is increased beyond this voltage level. As shown in FIG. 13, thesecond barrier 42 _(54b) for holes 75 and 76 is below hole energy as theapplied voltage is increased beyond this voltage level. Therefore, holes75 and 76 of TG 61 can transport through filter 52 without being blockedby BD 64 layer. The much weaker dependence of barrier height 20′_(54b)on the applied voltage maintains the barriers 24 _(54b) and 24 _(53b)for blocking electrons 84 in this voltage range and hence preventingelectrons from backward transporting.

The illustration made in FIG. 14 is by way of example showing theasymmetrical voltage-dependence of barrier heights on two barrierheights 20′_(54b) and 41 _(54b). Similar showing can be readily made onother barrier heights (such as 20 _(53b) and 41′_(53b) of barriers 24_(53b) and 42 _(53b), respectively) of filter 52 in FIG. 13. It is thusclear that the barrier heights of the potential barriers controlling thebackward transporting charge carriers have a weaker voltage-dependenceon voltage drop across the filter than barrier heights of the potentialbarriers controlling the forward transporting charge carriers have.

While not shown, the filter also provides voltage divider function whilevoltage polarity between TG and BG is set for ballistic-hole injection.The voltage divider function for ballistic-hole injection reducesvoltage drops in the dielectrics of the filter 52, and is governed bysimilar effect as that described in connection with FIG. 12B forballistic-electron injection. For ballistic-hole injection, due to thehigher voltage illustrated, the voltage divider function reduces theelectric fields within dielectrics of filter 52 by reducing the voltagedrops across them and thus prevents the dielectric breakdown problem.

Therefore, the barriers engineering concept here provides a methodthrough which an electrically alterable filter is constructed forballistic-charge-injection. The filter provides unique feature filteringout the unwanted carriers (i.e. the backward transporting carriers)without affecting the transport of the wanted carriers (i.e. the forwardtransporting carriers).

The filter 52 further provides another filtering function in accordancewith the present invention. Such filtering function permits chargecarriers of one polarity type and having lighter mass (e.g. LH) totransport through the filter, and blocks charge carriers of the samepolarity type and having a heavier mass (e.g. HH) from transportingthere through. Thus, the filter 52 provides a mass-filtering functionthat can filter the charge carrier flows based on their mass.

FIG. 15 illustrates the basis of the mass-filtering function of thefilter 52. The mass-filtering function can be better captured byreferring back to FIG. 13. In the conductor-filter system 59 of FIG. 13,the conductor 61 supplies thermal charge carriers (LH 75 and HH 76). Thefilter 52 contacts the conductor 61 and includes dielectrics 53 and 54for providing a filtering function on the charge carriers 75 and 76 ofone polarity (positive charge carriers), wherein the filter includeselectrically alterable potential barriers 42 _(53b) and 42 _(54b) forcontrolling flow of the charge carriers 75 and 76 of one polaritythrough the filter 52 in one direction (forward direction 34).

It is known in quantum mechanics theory that tunneling probability ofcharge carriers is a function of their mass, and the heavier carriers(e.g. HH 76) can have a tunneling probability lower than that of thelighter one (e.g. LH 75). FIG. 15 shows normalized tunneling probabilitycalculated for LH and HH and is plotted as a function of the reciprocalof V_(TD) to illustrate the mass-filtering function of filter 52. In theillustration, filter 52 is assumed comprising TD 53 of oxide having 3 nmon thickness and BD 54 of nitride having 2 nm on thickness. For therange of voltage (+5 V to +6 V) that is applied between TG 61 and BG 62for ballistic-hole injection, the tunneling probability of HH is shownlower than that of LH by about 4 to about 8 orders of magnitude. Thedifference on tunneling probability due to the effect of carrier massespermits mass-filtering function realized in the filter 52. Although theillustration made herein is on hole carriers, the same illustration canbe readily extended to other types of carriers having same polarity typebut different mass (for example, piezo-electrons as described inconnection with FIGS. 17B and 17C). The mass-filtering function isanother embodiment of the filtering function of filter 52.

The mass-filtering function of filter 52 and its application on passingLH brings desirable advantages to the present invention. For example, itcan avoid wasting on the supplied carriers of TG 61 that are used forballistic injection. This is because the majority population of the holecarriers in TG 61 are of the HH type, which has a shorter mean-free-pathand prone to experience scattering events when transporting across BG62. Such HH cannot efficiently contribute to the ballistic injection andthus are wasted when employed as the supplied carriers. By filtering outthe HH through the mass-filter function of filter 52, the primarysupplied carriers are now limited to LH carriers only. LH carriers havea longer mean-free-path and can more efficiently contribute to theballistic injection while transporting through BG 62 via mechanismdescribed in connection with FIG. 13. As a result, the mass-filteringfunction of filter 52 provides feature on selecting carriers having highballisticity as the supplied carriers, and hence avoids waste onsupplied current by carriers of low ballisticity.

The filter 52 of the conductor-filter system 59 provides uniquefiltering functions. It provides the band-pass filtering function asdescribed in connection with FIG. 7, the charge-filtering function asdescribed in connection with FIGS. 10, 12A, 13 and 14, and themass-filtering function as described in connection with FIG. 15. Inaddition to the filtering function, the filter 52 provides an additionalvoltage divider function as described in connection with FIG. 12B. Itshould be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that the teachingsof this disclosure can be applied to modify the dielectrics and/orarchitecture of the filter through which these functions can be tailoredindividually or collectively. For example, the filter can contain morethan two dielectrics to enhance its voltage-divider function. Further,the dielectrics of filter need not be having a uniform chemical elementbut rather can have a graded composition on its element that caneffectively support these functions. It is thus understood that thepresent invention is not limited to the illustrated herein andembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all variationsfalling within the scope of the appended claims.

Now, please turn to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 provides an energy band diagram inflat-band condition for another embodiment on energy band structure ofthe charge-injection system in accordance with the present invention.The band structure is in all respects except one the same as that ofFIG. 11. The difference is that instead of having BG 62 be comprised ofa semiconductor, the diagram is provided with BG 62 be comprised of ametal having work function with a Fermi-levels 16 ₆₂, such as materialsfor conductor described in connection with FIG. 1. FIG. 16 further showscharge carriers of electrons 56, LH 75, and HH 76, in valence band 44 ₆₁of TG 61. Such electrons 56 are filtered by filter 52 and are injectedonto CSR 66 by applying proper voltage and polarity to TG 61 and BG 62as described in connection with FIGS. 7, 12A, and FIG. 10. Similarly, LH75 and HH 76 are filtered by filter 52 and are injected onto CSR 66 byapplying proper voltage and polarity to TG 61 and BG 62 as described inconnection with FIGS. 14, 15, and FIG. 13.

In the forgoing embodiments on band structure forballistic-charge-injection, BG 62 forms the active layer for ballisticcharges transport and is generally required to have a thickness thinnerthan a few times of the mean-free path of charge carriers (typically inthe range of 10 nm to 20 nm), in order to permit such carrierstransporting through BG 62 with good efficiency. The needs on a thinthickness for BG 62 layer unavoidably results in a large sheetresistance R to that layer, and cause fundamental problems in ICapplications. For example, it can cause a large signal delay due to acombining effect of the large sheet resistance R and a large C (i.e. theRC delay). This is particularly a main issue on memory operation as theRC delay can limit the speed on accessing a memory cell when embedded ina large memory array. Secondly, for disturb prevention on un-selectedcells, an optimum set of predetermined voltages usually are required tobe applied to those cells. However, due to the RC delay, voltages onun-selected cells can be different than the desired values, and hencecell disturb is more prone to happen. Furthermore, the large R cancombine with a large current I to result in a IR effect, which can causea voltage drop when passing a voltage in a signal line. The effectprevents the voltage on a designated electrode of a memory cell fromreaching its desired level, and hence can adversely impact celloperation. For example, the adverse impact on an unselected cell can bean undesired cell disturb, where the cell state is unintentionallychanged from one logic state (e.g. a “0”) to the other (e.g. a “1”). TheIR impact on a selected cell can be a slower speed on cell operations(i.e. program, erase, and read operations).

These problems can however, be overcome by considering the Piezo-Effectas described hereinafter.

Application of Piezo-Effect to Ballistic-Charge Injection

Piezo-effect is a well-known physical phenomenon in solid-state physics.Piezo-effect can change electrical properties of a semiconductormaterial when a mechanical stress is applied to such material (see Pikusand Bir, Symmetry and Strain-Induced Effects in Semiconductors, NewYork: Wiley, 1974). The mechanical stress can be originated from astrain source (also can be termed as “stressor”) that is either internalor external to the material. This mechanical stress can be either incompressive form (compression), or in tensile form (tension), and canresults in a strain in the material. It breaks the symmetry within thecrystal lattice and hence deforms the potential therein. Some well-knownapplications of the piezo-effect on semiconductors (e.g. silicon) arepiezo-resistive effect in resistors, piezo-junction effect in bipolartransistors and diodes, piezo-Hall effect in sensors, and piezo-FETs inMOS transistors (“MOSFETs”).

The present invention further provides the application of thepiezo-effect to the ballistic charge carrier injection and transport. Anovel piezo-ballistic-charge-injection mechanism is provided withillustrations made herein to various embodiments of the presentinvention

Piezo-Ballistic-Charge-Injection Mechanism

It is known that when a strain is in presence in semiconductors, it cansplit valleys in conduction band and degeneracy in valence sub-bands ofHH and LH (see Hensel et al., “Cyclotron Resonance Experiments inUniaxially Stressed Silicon: Valence Band Inverse Mass Parameters andDeformation Potentials, Phys. Rev. 129, pp. 1141-1062, 1963). FIGS. 17A,17B and 17C provide schematic diagrams illustrating the dispersionrelationship between energy E and momentum vector k for a semiconductorwithout strain (or “unstrained”), under tensile stress (tensilestrained), and under compressive stress (compressive strained),respectively.

FIG. 17A shows dispersion relationship for a semiconductor withoutstrain. There is shown electrons 85 filled in two conduction bandvalleys, a left valley 86 and a right valley 87, having minima 86 m and87 m, respectively. The minima 86 m and 87 m are shown at similar energylevel. With the different curvatures on the dispersion curves shown forthe valleys, the left valley 86 has a heavier effective mass than theright one 87. Also shown are dispersion curves for LH and HH sub-bands88 and 89 filled with holes 90. LH and HH sub-bands 88 and 89 are shownhaving energy degeneracy at a valence band maximum 91. The conductionband minima 86 m or 87 m and the valence band maximum 91 are separatedby an energy band gap 92.

FIG. 17B shows dispersion relationship similar to FIG. 17A except thesemiconductor is strained with tensile stress. The conduction bandvalleys are shown shifted with their minima moving upward (in the leftvalley 86) or downward (in the right valley 87). This shiftredistributes the electron population within the two valleys, whereelectrons 85 are more populated in the valley 87 due to a lower energylevel on the conduction band minimum 87 m. Repopulating electrons 85 toreside primarily in valley 87 is desirable for two reasons. First, itprovides desirable effect on electron transport in the semiconductor dueto the lighter electron effective mass in the conduction valley 87.Second, the separation of the valleys is known being able to reduceinter-valley scattering of electrons. These effects can be morespecifically illustrated by using silicon as an example. The strain insilicon can cause splitting of the six-fold degenerate conduction bandinto two-fold and four-fold degenerate valleys with most electrons(about 100 percent of the entire electrons) populated in the two-folddegenerate valley having lighter effective mass along electron transportdirection. This strain effect is known to increase electron mobility byabout 50 percent and drift velocity by about 16 percent in strained-SiMOSFETs (a type of piezo-FETs, see Vogelsang et al., “ElectronMobilities and High-Field Drift Velocity in Strained Silicon onSilicon-Germanium Substrate”, IEEE Trans. on Electron Devices, pp.2641-2642, 1992). Similar strain effect can be applied to enhance thetransport of ballistic charge carriers. Thus, ballistic electroninjection efficiency in silicon can be enhanced by repopulatingelectrons to the two-fold degenerate valley. This can be achievedthrough applying stress to silicon to cause strain along direction ofelectron transport. It is thus clear the piezo-effect can result inheavily populated “piezo”-electrons (i.e. electrons in material undermechanical stress), which have a lighter mass and lower scatteringrates. When combining these effects to the ballistic electron injection,it provides a piezo-ballistic-electron-injection mechanism in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

While not shown, such piezo-electrons can be employed as the suppliedcarriers in energy band structures in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10 togo through transport process as described therein.

FIG. 17B also illustrates the strain effect of tensile stress insemiconductor can further remove the degeneracy of valence sub-bands 88and 89, where the LH sub-band 88 is shown shifted upward and the HHsub-band 89 is shown shifted downward. A maximum 88 p of the LH sub-band88 is shown at an energy level higher than a maximum 91 of valence bandsof FIG. 17A. A maximum 89 p of the HH sub-band 89 is shown at an energylevel lower than the maximum 91 of valence bands of FIG. 17A. Havingthis effect and the effect on shifting down the conduction band valley87, and hence its minimum 87 m, the energy band gap 93 can be narrowerthan the energy band gap 92 of the unstrained case of FIG. 17A. Usingsilicon as an example, for tensile strained silicon layer (e.g. forminga silicon layer on a Si_(1-x)Ge_(x) layer), the energy level of thetwo-fold degeneracy in silicon can be shifted down by about 0.18 eV andthe LH degeneracy can be shifted up by about 0.12 eV for a Ge molefraction x equals about 30 percent. The resulted energy band gap 93 thusis about 0.8 eV. Further a LH to HH band splitting is shown between themaxima 88 p and 89 p of LH and HH sub-bands 88 and 89, respectively. Theband splitting is a result of removing the LH and HH degeneracy and hasthe effect on reducing inter-band scattering between LH and HH.Moreover, a deformation on valence sub-bands can reduce effective massof the light-holes. As a result, the mean-free-path of ballisticlight-holes can be longer in a strained semiconductor than that in anunstrained one.

FIG. 17B also shows that with lifting the degeneracy of LH and HHsub-bands, holes 90 can be repopulated from the HH sub-band 89 to LHsub-band 88. In fact, with silicon strained under the tensile stress, LHpopulation can be increased from about 20 percent to about 90 percent ofentire holes population (see Fischetti et al., Journal of Appl. Physics,vol. 94, pp. 1079-1095, 2003). Further, it is known that LH has a muchlower scattering rate than that of HH (see Hinckley et al., “HoleTransport Theory in Pseudomorphic Si_(1-x)Ge_(x) Alloys Grown on Si(001)Substrates,” Phys. Rev. B, 41, pp. 2912-2926, 1990). These effects arefurther considered in the injection mechanism of the present invention(for example on LH injection as described in connection with FIG. 13).The holes injection efficiency can be enhanced by injecting “piezo”holes (i.e. holes in material under mechanical stress) throughrepopulating holes from HH to LH sub-bands. This can be achieved throughapplying tensile stress to regions where holes are injected from, and itprovides a method employing piezo-effect on ballistic-charge-injection.With the heavily populated LH and their higher ballisticity, whenapplying these combined effects through such method toballistic-charge-injection, it provides a piezo-ballistic-holesinjection mechanism as another embodiment of thepiezo-ballistic-charge-injection mechanism in accordance with thepresent invention. The method enhances the ballistic holes injectionefficiency through injecting piezo-ballistic-holes (e.g. LH).

FIG. 17C illustrates dispersion relationship similar to FIG. 17B exceptthe semiconductor is under strain of compressive stress. Similar to thetensile stress, the compressive stress can lift the degeneracy ofvalence sub-bands 88 and 89, but in an opposite order as compared tothat shown in FIG. 17B. The LH sub-band 88 is shown shifted downward andthe HH sub-band 89 is shown shifted upward. Nevertheless, lifting the HHand LH degeneracy can reduce inter-band scattering between LH and HH.Due to this shift on valence sub-bands, the holes are shown primarilypopulated in the HH valence sub-band. Further, the valence sub-bands areshown with deformed curvatures as compared to those shown in FIG. 17A ofthe unstrained case. The deformed HH valence sub-band in FIG. 17C canreduce effective mass of the heavy-holes to a lighter one. As a result,the mean-free-path of holes in a strained semiconductor (i.e.piezo-holes) can be longer than that of an unstrained one. This effectprovides another embodiment of the piezo-ballistic-charge-injectionmechanism in accordance with the present invention.

It is known that the effective mass of a lifted valence sub-band tofirst order can be shifted linearly with stress (see Hensel et al.,“Cyclotron Resonance Experiments in Uniaxially Stressed Silicon: ValenceBand Inverse Mass Parameters and Deformation Potentials, Phys. Rev. 129,pp. 1141-1062, 1963, and see Hinckley et al., “Hole Transport Theory inPseudomorphic Si_(1-x)Ge_(x) Alloys Grown on Si(001) Substrates,” Phys.Rev. B, 41, pp. 2912-2926, 1990). Employing this relationship intogether with the relationship between effective mass andmean-free-path, the present invention provides a method to alter themean-free-path of piezo-ballistic-charges. This method representsanother embodiment of the piezo-ballistic-charge-injection mechanism,and is illustrated by adjusting the level of the stress along directionparallel to the direction of charge transport. FIG. 18 shows an exampleof the effect of stress on mean-free-path. The compressive stress onstrained silicon is used as an example to illustrate the effect on HH.Referring to FIG. 18, the vertical axis represents a normalizedmean-free-path, which is the ratio of the mean-free-path in strainedsilicon to that in unstrained silicon. As can be seen in the plot, thenormalized mean-free-path increases linearly with increasing stress.Further, the enhancement effect on mean-free-path is more significantfor stress axis parallel to [111] than to [001] of the crystallographicdirection in silicon.

FIG. 19 illustrates the efficiency enhancement versus the compressivestress for the piezo-ballistic hole injection. The efficiencyenhancement is the ratio of the efficiency of strained silicon to theefficiency of unstrained silicon. As can be seen in the plot, theenhancement increases super-linearly for stress in a moderate mechanicalstress (e.g. in the range of about 200 mega Pascal (“MPa”) or lower),and becomes approximately linearly proportional to the stress in ahigher range (e.g. in the range of about 400 MPa or higher). Further,the enhancement effect is much more significant for stress axis parallelto [111] than to [001]. About twenty times and about fifty times higheron the efficiency are illustrated achievable for stress axis along [001]and [111] directions, respectively.

FIG. 20 illustrates the sensitivity of the efficiency enhancement on themean-free-path of unstrained silicon (“mfp*” hereinafter). It should benoted that the difference on the mfp* can be due to, for example,different levels of impurity concentration in semiconductor. The stressin parallel with crystallographic direction [001] is chosen in thisillustration. Referring to FIG. 20, it is noted that the efficiencyenhancement can be more significantly increased in a case having ashorter mfp* (e.g. 4 nm) than in a case having a longer mfp* (e.g. 10nm) when stresses of both cases are held at a same level. For example,the efficiency enhancement can be 1000 times higher when a stress of1000 MPa is applied to a silicon having mfp* of 4 nm, whereas the samestress can only achieve 10 times enhancement on efficiency in a siliconhaving mfp* of 10 nm. The effect demonstrated here is advantageous forscaled memory cell in advanced technologies, where a shorter mfp* isanticipated due to heavier impurity concentration in silicon. This isbecause a heavier impurity concentration in silicon can assist cellscaling into smaller geometry (for example, it can avoid unduly increaseon resistance of regions where ballistic-charges traverse when scaling amemory cell).

It should now be clear that the transport mechanism of ballisticcarriers (LH, HH, or electrons) can be altered by employing thepiezo-ballistic-charge-injection mechanism. It should also be clear tothose of ordinary skill in the art that the teachings of this disclosurecan be applied to select different type of stress (e.g. tensile orcompressive stress) and to change the axis of the stress through whichthe holes population and their mean-free-path are altered such that theinjection efficiency in these cases can be enhanced.

Although the forgoing discussion has focused on injection ofpiezo-holes, it will be clear to those ordinary skills in the art thatsimilar considerations, their effects and advantages apply topiezo-ballistic-electrons-injection. Further, although the forgoingdiscussion has focused on semiconductor (e.g. silicon), it will be clearto those ordinary skills in the art that similar considerations, theireffects and advantages apply to other type of conductors (e.g. TiN, TaN,Si_(1-x)Ge_(x) alloys etc.). Moreover, although the forgoingillustration on charge-injection systems has focused on memory-relatedapplication, it will be clear to those ordinary skills in the art thatsimilar considerations, their effects and advantages can be applied toother type of semiconductor devices (e.g. transistors, and amplifiersetc.).

FIG. 21A shows the injection efficiency plotted versus the thickness ofthe active layer (BG 62) for ballistic transport comparing results fromstrained and unstrained silicon. As illustrated, by using thepiezo-ballistic-electron-injection mechanism (the strained one), theelectrons can be injected onto CSR 66 at much higher efficiency thanthat achievable by injecting normal electrons of unstrained silicon.This is due to the lower scattering rate and longer mean-free-path ofthe piezo-electrons, as described earlier (see, e.g. FIG. 17B and itsdescription). This effect provides means in accordance with one aspectof the present invention to fix the problems on large resistance. FIG.21B shows the dependence of sheet resistance of BG 62 on mean-free-pathwhen injection efficiency is maintained at a fixed value of 1 percent.By employing the piezo-ballistic-electron-injection mechanism, the sheetresistance can be reduced, for example, from 250 Ohms/square forunstrained silicon to about 220 Ohms/square for strained silicon havingsimilar mean-free-path. Employing the mechanism, FIG. 21B also showsthat further reduction on sheet resistance can be achieved by increasingthe mean-free-path from 10 nm to about 28 nm without compromisinginjection efficiency.

The piezo-ballistic-charge-injection mechanism can readily be applied tothe band structures on charge injection of the present invention. Anexample is given here by using the energy band structure shown in FIG.13. Referring to FIG. 13, the TG 61 is now strained to have the majoritypopulation of holes be comprised of the LH 75. Having higher LHpopulation in TG 61 is desirable because it provides a higher suppliedcurrent for charges having high ballisticity to the injection. This canbe done by, for example, applying a tensile stress to TG 61 inaccordance with one embodiment of the piezo-ballistic-charge-injectionmechanism. With the stress effect, the HH 76, which can coexist with theLH 75 in TG 61, is now at a much lower population (e.g. at about 5 toabout 20 percent of the total hole population).

It is noted that while TG 61 is strained under the mechanism describedherein, the BG region 62 can be strained under a condition in accordancewith another embodiment of the piezo-ballistic-charge-injectionmechanism such that the mean-free-path of holes traversing the BG 62 canbe longer than mfp* of that region. For example, this can be done byapplying a mechanical stress to BG 62 to remove the band degeneracy asdescribed in connection with FIGS. 17B and 17C, which can reduce theinter-band scattering to LH carriers when traversing through that regionand hence enhances their injection efficiency.

The Memory Cells of the Present Invention

Embodiment 100

FIG. 22 shows a cross-sectional view of cell architecture 100 inaccordance with one embodiment on cell structure of the presentinvention. Referring to cell 100 of FIG. 22, there is shown aconductor-filter system 59 of the type described in connection withFIGS. 7, 9, 11 and 13, a conductor-insulator system 60 of the typedescribed in connection with FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, a charge storage region(“CSR”) 66 in the form of a floating gate (“FG”) 66 ₁₀₀, and a channeldielectric (“CD”) 68. The conductor-filter system 59 comprises atunneling-gate (“TG”) 61, and a filter 52, wherein TG 61 corresponds tothe conductor of the system 59. The filter 52 provides the band-passfiltering function as described in connection with FIG. 7, thecharge-filtering function as described in connection with FIGS. 10, 12A,13 and 14, the voltage divider function as described in connection withFIG. 12B, and the mass-filtering function as described in connectionwith FIG. 15. In a preferred embodiment, the filter 52 comprises atunneling dielectric (“TD”) 53 and a blocking dielectric (“BD”) 54described in connection with FIG. 7. The conductor-insulator system 60comprises a ballistic gate (“BG”) 62 and a retention dielectric (“RD”)64 as the conductor and insulator of the system, respectively. The cellstructure in regions from TG 61 to RD 64 is constructed by “contacting”the filter 52 of the conductor-filter system 59 to the conductor (BG 62)of the conductor-insulator system 60. The structure thus formed has TD53 sandwiched in between the TG 61 and the BD 54 regions, and has BD 54sandwiched in between the TD 53 and the BG 62 regions. The BG 62 isdisposed adjacent to and insulated from the FG 66 ₁₀₀ by the retentiondielectric (RD 64). The FG 66 ₁₀₀ is disposed adjacent to and insulatedfrom the body 70 by CD 68. The FG 66 ₁₀₀ is typically encapsulated andinsulated by dielectrics such as RD 64, CD 68, or other dielectrics inclose proximity having proper thickness and good insulation property toretain charges thereon without leaking. Typically, RD 64 and CD 68 havethe thicknesses in the range from about 5 nm to about 20 nm. TD 53 andBD 54 can comprise dielectrics having a uniform chemical element or agraded composition on its element. TD 53 and BD 54 can be dielectricmaterials from the group comprising oxide, nitride, oxynitride, aluminumoxide (“Al₂O₃”), hafnium oxide (“HfO₂”), zirconium oxide (“ZrO₂”),tantalum pen-oxide (“Ta₂O₅”). Furthermore, any composition of thosematerials and the alloys formed thereof, such as hafnium oxide-oxidealloy (“HfO₂—SiO₂”), hafnium-aluminum-oxide alloy (“HfAlO”), hafnium-oxynitride alloy (“HfSiON”) etc. can be used as dielectric materials forTD and BD. In the preferred embodiment, an oxide dielectric havingthickness from 2 nm to 4 nm and a nitride dielectric having thicknessranging from about 2 nm to 5 nm are chosen for TD 53 and BD 54,respectively.

Cell 100 of FIG. 22 further provides a source 95, a channel 96, a drain97, and a body 70 in a semiconductor substrate 98 (such as a siliconsubstrate or a silicon-on-insulator substrate). The body 70 comprises asemiconductor material of a first conductivity type (e.g. p-type) havingdoping level in the range of about 1×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³ to about 1×10¹⁸atoms/cm³. The source 95 and drain 97 are formed in the body 70 with thechannel 96 of the body defined therebetween, and are typically heavilydoped by impurity of a second conductivity type (e.g. n-type) havingdoping level in the range of about 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ to about 5×10²¹atoms/cm³. These doping regions may be formed by thermal diffusion or byion implantation.

In FIG. 22, the TG 61 is shown overlapping the BG 62 to form an overlapportion between the two, where at least a portion of FG 66 ₁₀₀ isdisposed thereunder. The overlap portion is essential in the cellstructure as supplied charge carriers are filtered through that portionin order to be transported through BG 62, RD 64 and finally into the FG66 ₁₀₀. The FG 66 ₁₀₀ is for collecting and storing such charge carriersand can be polysilicon, poly SiGe or any other types of semiconductormaterials that can effectively store charges. The conductivity of FG 66₁₀₀ can be an n-type or a p-type. Materials for TG 61 and BG 62 can befrom the group comprising a semiconductor, such as n+ polysilicon, p+polysilicon, heavily-doped poly SiGe etc, or a metal, such as aluminum(Al), platinum (Pt), Au, Tungsten (W), Molybdenum (Mo), ruthenium (Ru),tantalum (Ta), nickel (Ni), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride(TiN) etc, or alloy thereof, such as tungsten-silicide, nickel-silicideetc. While TG and BG in cell 100 are shown each in a single layer, BG 62and TG 61 may comprise more than one layer in their respectivearchitecture. For example, TG 61 can comprise a nickel-silicide layerformed atop of a polysilicon layer to form a composite layer for TG 61.The thickness of TG 61 can be in the range from about 80 nm to about 500nm, and the thickness of BG 62 can be in the range from about 20 nm toabout 200 nm.

The energy band structure along line AA′ can be the FIG. 9 type, theFIG. 10 type or the FIG. 16 type.

The program operation of memory cell 100 can be done by employing theballistic-electron injection mechanism as described in connection withFIGS. 9 and 10, or the piezo-ballistic-electron injection mechanism asdescribed in connection with FIG. 17B and FIGS. 9 and 10. Theseinjection mechanisms inject energized charge carriers having energydistribution with an energy spectrum in the range of about 30 meV toabout 300 meV onto CSR 66. For the specific embodiment, voltage of TG 61is chosen in the range of about −3.3 V to about −4.5 V relative tovoltage of BG 62 to form a voltage drop therebetween for injectingelectrons having tight energy distribution. This can be done, forexample, by applying a −3.3 V voltage to TG 61 and a 0 V voltage to BG62 to generate the −3.3 V voltage drop across TG and BG. Alternately, itcan be done by applying other voltage combinations, such as −1.8 V to TGand +1.5 V to BG. The voltage drop across TG and BG can be furtherlowered by lowering the Image-Force barrier height of theconductor-insulator system 60 as described in connection with FIGS. 3A,3B and 3C. This can be done by coupling a voltage in the range of about1 V to about 3 V to CSR 66 through applying voltages in the range ofabout 1 V to about 3.3 V to source 95, drain 97, and body 70. Forexample, assuming 8 nm for the thickness of RD, such Image-Forcelowering effect can reduce the −3.3 V voltage drop across TG and BG to arange of about −2.8 V to about −3.0 V.

The FG 66 ₁₀₀ of CSR 66 is negatively charged with electron carriersafter the cell 100 is programmed to a program state. The programmedstate of cell 100 is erased by performing an erase operation. The eraseoperation can be done by employing the ballistic-hole injectionmechanism as described in connection with FIG. 13, or thepiezo-ballistic-hole injection mechanism as described in connection withFIGS. 17 B, 17C, and FIG. 13. These injection mechanisms injectenergized charge carriers having energy distribution with an energyspectrum in the range of about 30 meV to about 300 meV onto CSR 66. Forthe specific embodiment, voltage of TG 61 is chosen in the range ofabout +5 V to about +6 V relative to voltage of BG 62 to form a voltagedrop therebetween for injecting light-holes having tight energydistribution. This can be done, for example, by applying a +3 V voltageto TG 61 and a −2 V voltage to BG 62 to generate the +5 V voltage dropacross TG and BG. Alternately, it can be done by applying other voltagecombinations, such as +2.5 V to TG and −2.5 V to BG. The voltage dropacross TG and BG can be further lowered by lowering the Image-Forcebarrier height of the conductor-insulator system 60 as described inconnection with FIG. 6. The Image-Force barrier is somewhat lowered byFG 66 ₁₀₀ when it is negatively charged, and is generally furtherlowered by coupling a voltage in the range of about −1 V to about −3 Vto CSR 66 through applying voltages in the range of about −1 V to about−3.3 V to source 95, drain 97, and body 70. For example, assuming 8 nmfor the thickness of RD, such Image-Force lowering effect can reduce the+5 V voltage drop across TG and BG to a range of about +4.5 V to about+4.7 V.

Finally, to read the memory cell, a read voltage of approximately +1 Vis applied to its drain 97 and approximately +2.5 V (depending upon thepower supply voltage of the device) is applied to its BG 62. Otherregions (i.e. source 95 and body 70) are at ground potential. If the FG66 ₁₀₀ is positively charged (i.e. CSR 66 is discharged of electrons),then the channel 96 is turned on. Thus, an electrical current will flowfrom the source 95 to the drain 97. This would be the “1” state. On theother hand, if the FG 66 ₁₀₀ is negatively charged, the channel 96 iseither weakly turned on or is entirely shut off. Even when BG 62 anddrain 97 are raised to the read voltage, little or no current will flowthrough channel 96. In this case, either the current is very smallcompared to that of the “1” state or there is no current at all. In thismanner, the memory cell is sensed to be programmed at the “0” state.

The memory cell 100 of the present invention is illustrated in storingcharges on CSR 66 of a conductive or semiconductor material (i.e. FG 66₁₀₀) that is electrically insulated from but capacitively coupled tosurrounding conductive regions. In such storage scheme, charges areevenly distributed through out CSR 66. However, it should be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosurethat the present invention is not limited to the illustrated herein andembodiments described above, but can encompass any other type of schemesfor storing charges. For example, the memory cells of the presentinvention can store charges in CSR comprising a plurality of discretestorage sites such as nano-particles or traps in a dielectric layer, asillustrated in FIGS. 23 and 24, respectively.

Embodiment 200

Turning now to FIG. 23, a slight variation of the cell 100 of FIG. 22 ispresented in a memory cell 200. The cell 200 is in all respect exceptone the same as cell 100 of FIG. 22. The difference is that instead of aconductive region of FG 66 ₁₀₀ as CSR 66, the cell 200 is provided witha plurality of spaced-apart nano-particles 66 ₂₀₀ formed in nanometerscale as CSR 66. The nano-particles 66 ₂₀₀ is typically in an oval shapehaving a dimension in the range of about 2 nm to about 10 nm, and isshown contacting CD 68 and formed in RD 64. The RD 64 is shown in asingle layer and can be a layer of a stack of different dielectrics,such as a layer of oxide/nitride/oxide stack. The nano-particles as thestorage sites can be silicon nano-crystals each in an oval shape havinga diameter in the range of about 2 nm to about 7 nm, and can be formedby using well-known CVD technique. The nano-particles can be other typesof semiconductor materials (e.g. Ge, SiGe alloy etc.), dielectricparticles (e.g. HfO₂), or metals (e.g. Au, Ag, Pt etc.) that are innano-particles form and can effectively store charges.

It should be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that thenano-particles 66 ₂₀₀ need not be in oval shape in their cross section,need not be co-planar with the substrate surface, but rather can be atany level under or above the substrate surface, and with other shapethat can effectively store charge carriers. Moreover, the nano-particles66 ₂₀₀ need not be contacting the RD 64, need not be fully in the RD 64,but rather can be partially in RD 64 and partially in CD 68, or can befully in CD 68.

Embodiment 300

FIG. 24 provides cross sectional view on a memory cell 300 of anotherembodiment in accordance with the present invention. The cell 300 is inall respect except one the same as cell 100 of FIG. 22. The differenceis that instead of a conductive region for CSR 66, the cell 300 providesa CSR 66 of trapping dielectric having a plurality of trapping centers(traps 66 ₃₀₀). The dielectric CSR 66 uses traps 66 ₃₀₀ as the chargestorage sites and can be a nitride layer formed, for example, by usingLPCVD (Low-Pressure-Chemical-Vapor-Deposition) technique well-known inthe art. Other dielectrics such as HfO₂ and ZrO₂ having traps of adeeper trapping energy can also be considered as material for thetrapping dielectric.

Both cells 200 and 300 utilize scheme storing charges in localizedcharge storage sites that are in the form of nano-particles 66 ₂₀₀ andtraps 66 ₃₀₀, respectively. These cells can be operated in similar wayas that illustrated for cell 100 in connection with FIG. 22. Theadvantages of these two cell structures are reduced process complexity,and a negligible interference between adjacent cells when such types ofcells are arranged in a memory array. Furthermore, in the event there isa local breakdown in surrounding insulators of one of the sites, chargesstored at other sites can still be retained to preserve logic datastored thereon.

The dimensions of the cells in accordance with the present inventionsare closely related to the design rules of a given generation of processtechnology. Therefore, the foregoing dimensions on cells and on regionsdefined therein are only illustrative examples. In general, however, thedimension of the memory cells must be such that supplied charges arefiltered and transported through the filter at a higher absolute voltagebetween TG and BG (e.g. 3 V to 6 V) and blocked by the filter at a lowerabsolute voltage (e.g. 2.5 V or lower). Furthermore, the dimensions ofthe BG and RD must be such that a large portion of filtered charges areallowed to transport through that region and be collected by the CSR atan injection efficiency typically ranging from about 10⁻⁶ to about 10⁻¹.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theillustrated herein and embodiments described above, but encompasses anyand all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims. Forexample, the cell 100 need not have both the conductor-filter system andthe conductor-insulator system in cell structure and operations, butrather can have the conductor-filter system or the conductor-insulatorsystem in the cell structure that effectively filter and transportcharge carriers to the CSR.

The memory cells in accordance with the present invention can be formedin an array with peripheral circuitry including conventional row addressdecoding circuitry, column address decoding circuitry, sense amplifiercircuitry, output buffer circuitry and input buffer circuitry, which arewell known in the art.

The memory cells of these embodiments are typically arranged in arectangular array of rows and columns, wherein a plurality of cells areconstructed in NOR or NAND architecture well-known in the art. FIG. 25illustrates a NOR array architecture in schematic diagram withillustration made on the memory cell 100. Referring to FIG. 25, thereare shown word-lines 110, including word-lines M−1, M, and M+1, orientedin a first direction (row direction). Further, there are showntunneling-lines 120, including tunneling-lines L−1, L, and L, andbit-lines 130, including N−1, N, N+1, and N+2, all oriented in a seconddirection (column direction). BG 62 of each of the memory cells 100 inthe same row are connected together through one of the word-lines 110.Thereby, the word-line M+1 connects BG 62 of each of the memory cells inthe lowermost row. Each of the tunneling-lines 120 connects all the TG61 of memory cells in the same column. Thereby, the tunneling-line L−1connects TG 61 of each of the memory cells in the leftmost column ofFIG. 25. Likewise, each of the bit-lines 130 connects all the drains 97of memory cells in the same column. Thereby, the bit-line N connects thedrain 97 of each of the memory cells in the leftmost column of FIG. 25.Since the array demonstrated in this example used the virtual groundarray architecture, the bit-line N for memory cells on the leftmostcolumn also functioned as the source-line N for memory cells of anadjacent column (i.e. the center column of FIG. 25). Those of skill inthe art will recognize that the term source and drain may beinterchanged, and the source- and drain-lines or source- and bit-linesmay be interchanged. Further, the word-line is connected to BG 62 of thememory cell. Thus, the term BG, BG line may also be used interchangeablywith the term word-line.

The NOR array shown in FIG. 25 is a well-known array architecture usedas an example to illustrate the array formation using memory cells ofthe present invention. It should be appreciated that while only a smallsegment of array region is shown, the example in FIG. 25 illustrates anysize of array of such regions. Additionally, the memory cells of thepresent invention can be applied to other types of NOR arrayarchitecture. For example, while each of the bit lines 130 is arrangedto share with cells on an adjacent column as a source line, a memoryarray can be arranged with cells on each column having their owndedicated source line. Furthermore, although the present invention isillustrated in a single cell and in a NOR array, it should be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art that a plurality of cells of thepresent invention can be arranged in a rectangular array of rows andcolumns, wherein the plurality of cells are constructed in NAND arrayarchitecture well-known in the art or a combination of a NAND and a NORarray structure.

For memory cells in accordance with the present inventions, it should benoted that both program and erase operations can be done with absolutebias at a level less than or equal to 3.3V. Furthermore, the erasemechanism and cell architecture enable the individually erasable cellsfeature, which is ideal for storing data such as constants that requiredperiodically changed. The same feature is further extendable to smallgroup of such cells which are erased simultaneously (e.g. cells storinga digital word, which contains 8 cells). Additionally, the same featureis also further extendable to such cells which are erasablesimultaneously in large group (e.g. cells storing code for softwareprogram, which can contain 2048 cells configured in page, or contain aplurality of pages in block in array architecture).

Methods of Manufacturing

The present invention further provides self-alignment techniques andmanufacturing methods to form memory cells and memory array withillustration made on cell of the FIG. 22 type (cell 100) and on array ofthe FIG. 25 type. While illustration is made on cell 100, suchillustration is only by way of example and can be readily modified andapplied to other cells in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 26A there is shown a top plan view of a semiconductorsubstrate 98 used as the starting material for forming memory cells andarray. A cross-sectional view of the material thus described is shown inFIG. 26B, wherein the substrate 98 is preferably a silicon of a firstconductivity type (e.g. p-type). A body 70 is formed in the substrate bywell-known techniques such as ion implantation, and is assumed havingthe first conductivity type. The body 70 can be optionally isolated fromthe substrate 98 by semiconductor region having a second type ofconductivity (e.g. n-type).

With the structure shown in FIG. 26B, the structure is further processedas follows. A first insulator 68 is formed over the substrate 98 withthickness preferably at about 5 nm to about 50 nm. The insulator can be,e.g., oxide deposited by employing conventional thermal oxidation, HTO,TEOS deposition processes, or by in-situ steam generation (“ISSG”)techniques well-known in the art The insulator can be in single layerform or in composite layers form with other types of insulator (e.g.combination of oxide and nitride). Next a layer of charge storagematerial 66 a such as polysilicon is deposited over the structure using,for example, conventional LPCVD technique with polysilicon film dopedin-situ or by a subsequent ion implantation. The polysilicon layer 66 athus formed is used for forming CSR 66 of memory cell of the FIG. 22type (cell 100), and can be doped with impurity of a second conductivitytype at a doping level in the range of about 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ to about5×10²¹ atoms/cm³. The polysilicon layer 66 a is with a thickness, forexample, in the range from about 50 nm to 500 nm. Preferably, thetopography of the polysilicon layer 66 a thus formed is substantiallyplanar. It should be noted that polysilicon is chosen as material forthe charge storage layer 66 a for illustrating cell 100. In general,other suitable materials having charge storing capability (e.g.nano-particles, trapping dielectrics) can be employed instead for othercell types in accordance with the present invention.

Next, a photo-resistant material (“photo-resist” hereinafter) on thestructure surface is suitably applied followed by a masking step usingconventional photo-lithography technique to selectively remove thephoto-resist leaving a plurality of photo-resist line traces oriented inthe second direction (column direction) over the charge storage layer 66a. The process is continued by etching the exposed layer 66 a until theinsulator 68 is observed, which acts as an etch stop. The portions oflayer 66 a still underneath the remaining photo-resist are unaffected bythis etch process. This step forms a plurality of poly lines 66 borientated in the second direction (or “column direction”) with eachpair of them spaced apart by a first trench 142. The width of the polylines 66 b and the distance between adjacent poly lines can be as smallas the smallest lithographic feature of the process used. An ion implantstep is then performed to dope the exposed silicon region in the secondtype of conductivity to form diffusion regions self-aligned to the firsttrench 142. Such diffusion regions form the bit-lines 130. The remainingphoto-resist is then removed using conventional means.

The process is continued by forming a second insulator layer 64 a overthe exposed charge storage layer 66 a with thickness preferably at about5 nm to about 50 nm. The insulator can be, e.g., oxide deposited byemploying conventional thermal oxidation, HTO, TEOS or ISSG depositiontechniques. The insulator can be in single layer form or in compositelayers form with other types of insulator (e.g. composite layers ofoxide and FSG). The second insulator 64 a is used primarily for formingthe RD 64 of the memory cells in accordance with the present invention.

Next a layer of conductive material 62 a such as polysilicon isdeposited over the structure using, for example, conventional LPCVDtechnique with polysilicon film doped in-situ or by a subsequent ionimplantation. The conductive material 62 a is for forming BG 62 ofmemory cells and word-lines 110 of memory array. Typically, theconductive material 62 a is with a thickness thick enough to fill thefirst trenches 142 and can be on the order of, for example, about 20 nmto 200 nm. Preferably, the topography of the conductive material 62 athus formed is substantially planar, and an optional planarizationprocess (i.e. CMP) can be used for achieving the planar topography. Theresulted word-line structure 110 generally has a thinner region over theCSR 66 (used for BG 62 of each cell), and a thicker region over thebit-line diffusions 130 for interconnecting BG 62 between cells. Itshould be noted that polysilicon is chosen for material 62 a forillustration purpose (due to process simplicity). In general, any otherconductive materials that have a low sheet resistance, a good trench-gapfilling capability, and stable material property at high temperature(e.g. 900° C.) can be employed instead. For example, a metalizedpolysilicon layer such as polysilicon with tungsten-polycide atop can beemployed for the conductive layer 62 a by using well-known CVDtechnique. Tungsten-polycide has a sheet-resistance typically about 5 to10 Ohms/square, and is significantly lower than that in an un-metalizedheavily doped polysilicon, whose sheet-resistance is typically about 100to 300 Ohms/square. Other conductors that are readily available insemiconductor manufacturing, such as TiN, TaN etc., can also beconsidered as conductive layer 62 a.

The process is continued by forming a dielectric 143 over the conductivelayer 62 a with thickness preferably at about 10 nm to about 50 nm. Thedielectric 143 can be a nitride deposited by LPCVD technique well-knownin the art.

Next, a photo-resist on the structure surface is suitably appliedfollowed by a masking step using conventional photo-lithographytechnique to selectively remove the photo-resist leaving a plurality ofphoto-resist line traces 140 oriented in the first direction (rowdirection) over the dielectric layer 143. The process is continued byetching the exposed dielectric 143 followed by etching the exposedconductive layer 62 a until the insulator 64 a is observed, which actsas an etch stop. The portions of layers 143 and 62 a still underneaththe remaining photo-resist 140 are unaffected by this etch process. Thisstep forms a plurality of word lines 110 orientated in the firstdirection (or “row direction”) with each pair of them spaced apart by asecond trench 144. The width of the word-lines 110 and the distancebetween adjacent word-lines can be as small as the smallest lithographicfeature of the process used. The top plan view of the resultingstructure is shown in FIG. 27 and the cross-sectional views along linesAA′, 13B′, CC′ and DD′ of the resulting structure are collectivelyillustrated in FIGS. 27A, 27B, 27C, and 27D, respectively.

The process is continued by etching the exposed second layer 64 afollowed by etching the exposed charge storage layer 66 a until thefirst insulator 68 is observed, which acts as an etch stop. The portionsof layer 66 a underneath the remaining photo-resist are unaffected bythis etch process. This step forms a plurality of CSR 66. The remainingphoto-resist is then removed using conventional means. The top plan viewof the resulting structure is shown in FIG. 28 with word-lines line 110interlaced with the second trenches 144. The cross-sectional views alonglines AA′, BB′, CC′ and DD′ of the resulting structure are collectivelyillustrated in FIGS. 28A, 28B, 28C, and 28D, respectively.

The process is continued by optionally forming an insulating layer (notshown) such as oxide on sidewalls of word-lines 110 and CSR 66 exposedto the trench 144. The oxide can be formed by for example performing athermal oxidation step using rapid-thermal-oxidation (RTO) technique,and can have a thickness at about 2 nm to about 8 nm. Next, a relativethick dielectric layer (e.g. oxide) is formed to fill the trenches 144by using well-known techniques such as conventional LPCVD. The oxidedielectric is then selectively removed to leave oxide blocks 146 inregion within the trenches 144. The preferable structure is with the topsurface of the oxide blocks 146 substantially co-planar with the topsurface of the nitride dielectric 143. This can be done by, for example,employing a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) process to planarize thethick oxide followed by an RIE (reactive ion etch) using nitridedielectric 143 as a polishing and/or etching stopper. An optional oxideover-etching step follows if necessary to clear any oxide residue on thenitride dielectric 143. Thereby, the process leaves oxide only intrenches 144 to form oxide blocks 146 self-aligned to the trenches 144.The top plan view of the resulting structure is illustrated in FIG. 29with word-lines 110 interlaced with the oxide line blocks 146. Thecross-sectional views along lines AA′, BB′, CC′ and DD′ of the resultingstructure are collectively illustrated in FIGS. 29A, 29B, 29C, and 29D.

The process is continued by an etching step removing the nitridedielectric 143 (e.g. using hot phosphoric acid). Next, a filter 52having multi-layers dielectrics is formed over the word-lines 110. In aspecific embodiment, a third insulator 54 a and a fourth insulator 53 aare considered as the multi-layers dielectrics for the filter 52. Thethird insulator layer 54 a such as nitride is formed over the word-lines110 by employing thermal nitridation such as rapid-thermal-nitridation(RTN) in NH3 ambient at 1050 C. The third insulator 54 a has a thicknesspreferably at about 2 nm to about 5 nm. The process is continued byforming the fourth insulator layer 53 a such as oxide over the thirdinsulator 54 a. The fourth insulator can be formed by using thermaloxidation, HTO, TEOS, or ISSG techniques well-known in the art. Thefourth insulator 53 a has a thickness preferably at about 2 nm to about4 nm. The third and fourth insulator layers 54 a and 53 a are used as BD54 and TD 53, respectively, of the memory cells in accordance with thepresent invention. The top plan view of the resulting structure isillustrated in FIG. 30, and the cross-sectional views along lines AA′,BB′, CC′ and DD′ of the resulting structure are collectively illustratedin FIGS. 30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D.

The process is continued by forming a layer of conductive material 61 asuch as polysilicon over the structure using, for example, conventionalLPCVD technique with polysilicon film doped in-situ or by a subsequention implantation. The conductive material 61 a is for formingtunneling-lines 120 of memory array and TG 61 of memory cells.Typically, the conductive material 61 a has a thickness at about 50 nmto 500 nm. Preferably, the topography of the conductive material 61 athus formed is substantially planar, and an optional planarizationprocess (i.e. CMP) can be used for achieving the planar topography. Itshould be noted that polysilicon is chosen for material 61 a forillustration purpose (due to process simplicity). In general, any otherconductive materials that have a low sheet resistance, and stablematerial property at high temperature (e.g. 900° C.) as described inconnection with FIG. 27, can be employed instead. Other conductors thatare readily available in semiconductor manufacturing, such asplatinum-silicide, nickel-silicide, cobalt-silicide, titanium-silicide,TiN, TaN etc., can also be considered as conductive layer 61 a. Further,such types of conductors can be formed atop of polysilicon to form acomposite conductor for use as layer 61 a.

Next, a photo-resist on the structure surface is suitably appliedfollowed by a masking step using conventional photo-lithographytechnique to selectively remove the photo-resist leaving a plurality ofphoto-resist line traces oriented in the second direction (columndirection) over the conductive layer 61 a. The process is continued byetching the exposed conductive layer 61 a until the insulator 53 a isobserved, which acts as an etch stop. The portions of conductive layer61 a still underneath the remaining photo-resist are unaffected by thisetch process. This step forms a plurality of tunneling-lines 120orientated in the second direction (or “column direction”) with eachpair of them spaced apart by a third trench 147. The width of thetunneling-lines 120 and the distance between adjacent tunneling-linescan be as small as the smallest lithographic feature of the processused. The top plan view of the resulting structure is illustrated inFIG. 31 with tunneling-lines 120 interlaced with the third trenches 147.The cross-sectional views along lines AA′, BB′, CC′ and DD′ of theresulting structure are collectively illustrated in FIGS. 31A, 31B, 31C,and 31D.

FIG. 31C also shows various regions of a memory cell of the FIG. 22 type(cell 100). The bit-line 130 ₁ and the bit-line 130 ₂ correspond to thesource 95 and drain 97 of cell 100. Further shown are CD 68, CSR 66, RD64, BG 62, BD 54, TD 53, and TG 61 identical to their respective regionsin cell 100 described in connection with FIG. 22.

The structure on memory cells and array can be further processed bydepositing a layer of strain material 150 having mechanical stresses(e.g. tensile stress or compressive stress). The strain material servesas a stress source providing piezo-ballistic-charge-injection mechanismas described in connection with FIGS. 17B and 17C, and can be depositedover the structure shown in FIG. 31, or can be deposited after removingthe exposed insulators 53 a and 54 a in third trenches 147 by usingconventional etching techniques such as RIE. In the former case, thestress material 150 provides stress primarily to TG 61. In the latercase, the strain material also contacts word-lines 110 and henceprovides stress to TG 61 and BG 62 of each of memory cells. The strainmaterial 150 can be a dielectric providing different types of stress andis used for generating piezo-effect in TG 61 and/or BG 62 for thepiezo-ballistic-charge-injection. The stress can be a uniaxial stresswith a stress axis generally parallel to the surface TG 61 and along thefirst direction (row direction). A preferred embodiment for the strainmaterial 150 comprises nitride. The stress level and physical propertiesof the nitride can be controlled by the thickness and process conditionsin its formation. For example, by changing the pressure on chemicalelements (e.g. silane) during its formation, magnitude on stress levelin the range of about 50 MPa to about 1 giga Pascal (“GPa”) can beachieved. The nitride can be formed to have either tensile stress orcompressive stress by employing well-known chemical-vapor-deposition(“CVD”) techniques such as thermal-CVD (for tensile stress nitride) orplasma-CVD (for compressive stress nitride). Further, the stress levelof nitride can be tailored or even be relaxed if necessary by usingwell-known technique, such as ion implanting Ge into the nitride withimplant dosage above a threshold level (e.g. about 1×10¹⁴ atoms/cm²).The top plan view of the resulting structure of the former case isillustrated in FIG. 32 with strain material 150 disposed over the entirearray. The cross-sectional views along lines AA′, BB′, CC′ and DD′ ofthe resulting structure are collectively illustrated in FIGS. 32A, 32B,32C, and 32D.

It should be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure that the strain source resulting inpiezo-effect on BG 62 and TG 61 in the present invention need not beoriginated from the strain material 150 and need not be from its shownlocation, but rather can be from any other means and in any otherregions in the memory cell. Further, the stress need not be of theuniaxial type but rather can be other type (e.g. biaxial type). Forexample, the strain source can be from the BG 62 when polysilicon isemployed as material for that region. This is because polysilicon canprovide tensile stress with stress level typically in the range of about200 MPa to about 500 MPa. Another material for the strain source istungsten-silicide, which is a widely used material in manufacturingsemiconductor IC. Tungsten-silicide provides stress level in the rangeof about 1.5 GPa to about 2 GPa, and can be employed alone to form BG.Further, it can be deposited atop a polysilicon layer such that bothlayers collectively form the BG 62. Other materials such as amorphoussilicon, poly SiGe, TaN, TiN etc. can also be considered as materials.Moreover, means introducing strain need not be from employing strainmaterials, but rather can be through other approaches, such as ionimplanting heavy atoms (e.g. Si, Ge, As etc.) into the regions ofcrystal to be strained. Implanting heavy atoms at dosage above acritical dosage can disturb the periodicity of crystal lattice, andcreate dislocation loops and hence stress in that region. Further thestress in that region can provide strain to region adjacent to it. Thestress in the implanted region can be preserved by implanting atom suchas nitrogen in that region to prevent stress from being relaxed in laterprocessing steps during cell manufacturing. The ion implantationapproach has the advantage on process simplicity as it does not requiredepositing and etching strain material. Further it can form stress inimplanted regions and hence can localize the stress in regions wherestrain effect is most desired. Among all these approaches, they allprovide desired piezo-effect for the piezo-ballistic-charge-injection inaccordance with the present invention. Additionally, although one strainsource is illustrated in memory cells in accordance with the presentinvention, it should be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art thattwo or more strain sources can coexist in the same cell to provide anyvariations on stress (tensile or compressive) to various regions ofmemory cell falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Furthermore, the strain material of the present invention need not bedisposed on both sides of TG, need not be disposed over BG, need not berectangular in their cross-sections, need not be in direct contact withTG, need not be in direct contact with BG, but rather can be disposedover TG, can be disposed under BG, can be in any position adjacent to TGand BG, can be any size and shape in their cross-sections, can be inindirect contact with TG, and can be in indirect contact with BG thateffectively provide strain to TG and to BG in each memory cell.Moreover, those of skill in the art will recognize the source resultingin strain need not be termed “strain source” but can be in any otherterms (e.g. “stressor”, “stress source” etc.) that can providemechanical stress to generate piezo-effect on charge injection andtransports.

Moreover, the charge storage region of the present invention need not bein rectangular shape in their top view, need not be in rectangular intheir cross-sections, but rather can be any size and shape in their topview and in their cross-sections that effectively store charges andeffectively connects the drain 97 and source 95 in each memory cell.Additionally, the top and the bottom surface of filter 52 need not beparallel to the substrate surface, need not be flat, need not beco-planar with the substrate surface, but rather can be at any levelunder or above the substrate surface, in any angle with the substratesurface, and with other shape that can effectively perform the filteringfunction.

1. A memory cell comprising: a conductor-filter system including: afirst conductor for supplying thermal charge carriers; and a filtercontacting the first conductor and including dielectrics for providing afiltering function on charge carriers of one polarity, wherein thefilter includes: a first set of electrically alterable potentialbarriers for controlling flow of the charge carriers of one polaritythrough the filter in one direction, and a second set of electricallyalterable potential barriers for controlling flow of charge carriers ofan opposite polarity through the filter in another direction that issubstantially opposite to the one direction; a conductor-insulatorsystem including: a second conductor contacting the filter and includingenergized charge carriers from the filter; and an insulator contactingthe second conductor at an interface and including an Image-Forcepotential barrier adjacent to the interface, wherein the Image-Forcepotential barrier is electrically alterable to permit the energizedcharge carriers transporting there over; a body of a semi-conductormaterial having a first conductivity type; first and second spaced-apartregions formed in the body and having a second conductivity type, with achannel of the body defined there between; a channel dielectric adjacentto the channel; and a charge storage region disposed in between theinsulator and the channel dielectric.
 2. The memory cell of claim 1,wherein the filter comprises: a first dielectric disposed adjacent tothe conductor and having an energy band gap; and a second dielectricdisposed adjacent to the first dielectric, wherein the second dielectrichas an energy band gap narrower than the energy band gap of the firstdielectric.
 3. The memory cell of claim 2, wherein the first dielectrichas a first dielectric constant and the second dielectric has adielectric constant that is substantially greater than the firstdielectric constant.
 4. The memory cell of claim 2, wherein the firstdielectric has a first dielectric constant and a first thickness and thesecond dielectric has a second dielectric constant and a secondthickness, and wherein a product of the second dielectric constant andthe first thickness is substantially greater than a product of the firstdielectric constant and the second thickness.
 5. The memory cell ofclaim 2, wherein the first dielectric comprises oxide having a thicknessin a range of about 1.5 nm to about 4 nm, and the second dielectriccomprises material selected from the group consisting of nitride,oxynitride, Al₂O₃, HfO₂, TiO₂, ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅, and alloys formed thereof.6. The memory cell of claim 2, wherein the first dielectric comprisesoxynitride having a thickness in a range of about 1.5 nm to about 4 nm,and the second dielectric comprises material selected from the groupconsisting of nitride Al₂O₃, HfO₂, TiO₂, ZrO₂, Ta₂O₅, and alloys formedthereof.
 7. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the charge storageregion comprises polysilicon.
 8. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein thecharge storage region comprises a plurality of spaced-apartnano-particles.
 9. The memory cell of claim 8, wherein thenano-particles comprise material selected from the group consisting ofSi, Ge, SiGe alloy, H_(f)O₂, Au, Ag, and Pt.
 10. The memory cell ofclaim 1, wherein the charge storage region comprises a dielectricincluding a plurality of trapping centers.
 11. The memory cell of claim1, wherein the energized charge carriers has an energy distribution withan energy spectrum in the range of about 30 meV to about 300 meV. 12.The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the energized charge carriersinclude light-holes.
 13. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein theenergized charge carriers include electrons.
 14. The memory cell ofclaim 1, wherein the energized charge carriers include piezo-holes. 15.The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the energized charge carriersinclude piezo-electrons.
 16. A memory cell comprising: a firstconductor-material system including: a first conductor including thermalcharge carriers with an energy distribution; and a filter contacting thefirst conductor at a first interface and including dielectrics forproviding a filtering function on charge carriers of one polarity,wherein the filter includes: a first set of electrically alterablepotential barriers for controlling flow of the charge carriers of onepolarity through the filter in one direction, and a second set ofelectrically alterable potential barriers for controlling flow of chargecarriers of an opposite polarity to the one polarity through the filterin another direction that is substantially opposite to the onedirection; a second conductor-material system including: a secondconductor contacting the filter and including energized charge carrierswith an energy distribution from the filter; and an insulator contactingthe second conductor at a second interface and including an electricallyalterable Image-Force potential barrier adjacent to the second interfacea body of a semiconductor material including a first conductivity type;first and second spaced-apart regions formed in the body and including asecond conductivity type, with a channel of the body defined therebetween; a channel dielectric adjacent to the channel; and a chargestorage region disposed in between the insulator and the channeldielectric for storing the energized charge carriers from the secondconductor.
 17. The memory cell of claim 16, wherein the filtercomprises: a first dielectric disposed adjacent to the first conductorand including an energy band gap; and a second dielectric disposedadjacent to the first dielectric, wherein the second dielectric has anenergy band gap narrower than the energy band gap of the firstdielectric.
 18. The memory cell of claim 17, wherein the firstdielectric has a first dielectric constant and a first thickness and thesecond dielectric has a second dielectric constant and a secondthickness, and wherein a product of the second dielectric constant andthe first thickness is substantially greater than a product of the firstdielectric constant and the second thickness.
 19. The memory cell ofclaim 16, wherein the charge storage region comprises polysilicon. 20.The memory cell of claim 16, wherein the charge storage region comprisesa plurality of spaced-apart nano-particles.
 21. The memory cell of claim16, wherein the charge storage region comprises a dielectric including aplurality of trapping centers.
 22. The memory cell of claim 16, whereinthe energized charge carriers include light-holes.
 23. The memory cellof claim 16, wherein the energized charge carriers include electrons.24. The memory cell of claim 16, wherein the energized charge carriersinclude piezo-holes.
 25. The memory cell of claim 16, wherein theenergized charge carriers include piezo-electrons.